Weekly News Review August 31 – September 6 2026

More processing, closer cooperation, and the development of domestic value chains: Several developments this week show how companies and governments are seeking to strengthen their position in critical raw materials. – Find the details in our weekly Roundup.

RARE EARTHS: CLOSER INTEGRATION ALONG EUROPE’S VALUE CHAIN –

Canadian rare earths and critical materials specialist Neo Performance Materials and French company Carester have agreed to a close collaboration. Carester specializes in the processing, separation and recycling of rare earths and is currently developing its own refining and recycling facility in France through Caremag.

Going forward, Carester will supply dysprosium and terbium oxides for Neo’s magnet production in Estonia. Neo will process rare earth carbonate supplied by Carester at its refinery in Estonia. The light rare earths will remain with Neo, while the remaining heavy rare earths will be returned to Carester for further separation in France.

In addition, Neo will send production scrap from its magnet manufacturing operations to Carester so that the rare earths contained in the material can be recovered. Neo will then reuse the recovered materials in its own production.

The two companies are therefore dividing individual steps along the value chain according to their respective areas of expertise.

CANADA: MKANGO COMPLETES ACQUISITION –

The Bitterfeld operation, launched in 2024, holds an inventory of approximately 345 tonnes of material.

Canadian critical-minerals developer Mkango Resources has completed its acquisition of rare earth magnet recycler Remloy from Heraeus, first announced in May. The purchase price is €8 million. Mkango paid €5 million on completion, with the remaining €3 million due in August 2028.

Remloy operates a plant in Bitterfeld in the German state of Saxony-Anhalt, where end-of-life neodymium-iron-boron magnets are melted down and processed into alloy powder. The facility began operations in May 2024. According to Mkango, production is currently running on a small scale. The company aims to increase output to at least 500 tonnes per year over the next few years. The acquisition also includes an inventory of approximately 345 tonnes of end-of-life magnets, alloys and other raw materials.

The process is intended to complement Mkango’s other recycling methods, particularly those used by its subsidiary HyProMag in Pforzheim in the German state of Baden-Württemberg. The Canadian company’s portfolio also includes the Songwe Hill mining project in Malawi and a planned rare earth separation plant in Puławy, Poland.

BRAZIL: SENATE APPROVES CRITICAL MINERALS POLICY –

Up to US$1.4 billion is set to support domestic processing of critical raw materials.

Brazil’s Senate on Wednesday approved a bill that could give the country its first comprehensive national policy for critical minerals. The proposal, which still requires the approval of President Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva, establishes a concrete financing and industrial policy framework for the sector.

Among other measures, it provides a state-backed guarantee fund and additional funding for projects involving the processing and further refining of critical minerals. Companies will also be required to step up investment in research, development and technological innovation. A new national council will coordinate industrial policy and select projects eligible for support. The aim is to retain more value creation within Brazil and strengthen the country’s position in downstream stages of critical mineral supply chains.

Latin America’s largest country holds, for example, the world’s second-largest reserves of rare earths but has so far played only a minor role in global production. Last year, President Lula stressed that Brazil should benefit more from its mineral wealth and that investors would need to help expand domestic industrial value creation.

In recent years, Brazil has attracted growing interest from other countries that see its mineral resources as an opportunity to reduce their dependence on China, the dominant player in many critical raw material supply chains.

AUSTRALIA AND KAZAKSTAN TO COOPERATE IN RARE EARTH SEPARATION:

Australian critical minerals company Lindian Resources recently acquired (PDF) a rare earth processing facility in Stepnogorsk, Kazakhstan. The site was previously used by Kazakh uranium producer Kazatomprom and Japanese trading house Sumitomo to produce mixed rare earth carbonate from uranium processing residues—Lindian plans to restart operations in the fourth quarter of 2026.

Together with French rare earth specialist Carester, Lindian now also plans to expand the facility (PDF) to enable the separation of individual rare earth oxides. Carester will supply the technology, while a feasibility study is scheduled for completion by the end of 2026. The planned product range includes high-purity neodymium-praseodymium oxide for magnet production and a heavy rare earth carbonate blend. The plant is designed for a nameplate capacity of 8,000 tonnes of rare earth oxides (REO) per year. Lindian has not yet provided a commissioning date for the new facility.

Offtake Agreement and Right of First Refusal:

Carester will initially purchase 70% of the heavy rare earth carbonate blend produced at the new separation plant for ten years. The amount paid will be linked to the realized prices for the rare earth oxides recovered from the material, with any government-backed price floors also taken into account. The material will be further processed at Carester’s refinery currently under construction in France. Carester will also receive a right of first refusal over 70% of the mixed rare earth carbonate produced at the existing Stepnogorsk facility.

Feedstock for both facilities will include material from Lindian’s rare earth deposit in Malawi. Heavy rare earth production will also draw on stockpiles in Kazakhstan. The Central Asian country holds large deposits of these critical raw materials and aims to derive significantly greater value from its resource wealth by investing heavily in exploration.

USA: NEW RARE EARTH RECYCLING PLANNED –

Ionic Rare Earths and US Strategic Metals announce joint project in Missouri.

Australian critical minerals company Ionic Rare Earths and US Strategic Metals (USSM) plan to build rare earth magnet recycling facilities in the United States. The companies have signed a non-binding agreement (PDF) to establish a joint venture. The facilities would be built near Fredericktown, Missouri, where USSM is developing an integrated mining and processing site for critical minerals.

Feedstock for the recycling facilities will include end-of-life neodymium-iron-boron and samarium-cobalt magnets, as well as manufacturing scrap from these components. Ionic will provide the required technology. The company has already produced rare earth oxides from end-of-life magnets at a demonstration plant in Belfast, Northern Ireland. USSM also plans to use the process at a refinery it aims to develop in Saudi Arabia.

The proposed funding for the initial facilities in Missouri totals $100 million. USSM would provide $95 million, while the partners would split the remaining $5 million. The companies have not disclosed a timeline for construction or the start of operations, or the planned annual production capacity.