Weekly News Review October 5 – October 11 2026

Critical raw materials saw no major developments this week, making it a good time to look back at the key trends that shaped the markets over the past quarter. Of course, we have also rounded up the most important developments from this week for you.

MUTED MOMENTUM AND PERSISTENT RISKS: MARKET REPORT Q3/26

Compared with the first half of the year, the third quarter of 2026 was relatively quiet. Geopolitical factors, including China’s export controls, continued to shape the supply of many critical raw materials. Precious metal markets, meanwhile, remained dynamic throughout the quarter. In our market report, prepared together with raw materials trader TRADIUM, we review the key developments.

You can download the full report here.

US – UKRAINE FUND SEALS FIRST MINING DEAL:

In late April 2025, the US and Ukraine agreed to establish a joint fund to help rebuild Ukraine following Russia’s invasion. It aims to finance projects in sectors such as raw materials, energy, and infrastructure while strengthening US supply chains for critical minerals. The fund has now closed its first mining deal.

A joint investment platform with Ukrainian company BGV Group is planned, according to the US Treasury Department. Reuters reports that around $30 million is earmarked for the platform. The initial focus is on early-stage mining projects targeting identified deposits of rare earths, uranium, beryllium and zirconium.

The fund’s six projects to date have a combined value of around $70 million. They include initiatives to strengthen power and heating supplies.

In September 2025, the two countries announced $150 million in seed capital, with each pledging half. Additional capital is also being sought for the fund, Conor Coleman, head of investments at the US International Development Finance Corporation (DFC), told Reuters in an interview.

However, several hurdles remain before the mining projects can supply raw materials and help diversify US supply chains. These include limited data on the economic viability of rare earth mining and infrastructure destroyed by the war, such as energy supply facilities. Completing the various stages of mine development, including exploration, environmental assessments and permitting, also typically takes years.

SPAIN AWARDS FUNDING FOR EUROPE’S FIRST COMBINED RARE EARTHS MINE:

In Andalusia in southern Spain, what could become the EU’s first combined mine for rare earth-bearing monazite, titanium and zirconium is being developed. Project developer Osmond Resources reported this week that it has been provisionally awarded a government exploration grant of €250,000.

The funding comes from Spain’s national mining exploration program, for which the government allocated €182 million in March (as we reported). The grant is intended primarily to support further exploration of the project. At the same time, Osmond is assessing opportunities for further processing, including rare earth oxides as well as titanium and zirconium metal powders.

Further applications for project recognition and support schemes at the Andalusian, Spanish and EU levels are also planned.

Deposit with significant potential?

Current estimates suggest the Orión deposit contains 60 million tonnes of material with a high proportion of heavy minerals. Mineralized zones have been identified over several kilometers. At the same time, only a small part of the overall license area has been explored in detail so far, leaving room for further exploration.

Alongside Orión, eight other projects were selected in the first funding round. They range from exploring new critical raw material deposits to studies examining whether strategic metals can be recovered from historic mining waste.

GREENLAND APPROVES TANBREEZ MINING:

The plans cover 15 rare earth elements and four technology metals. No start date has been set for mine construction.

The Tanbreez rare earths project in south-western Greenland has moved another step closer to production. The Greenland government has approved plans for operating the mine and for its eventual closure and rehabilitation. The decision is valid until September 8, 2050, project developer Critical Metals Corp. said.

An exploitation license has been in place since 2020 for the deposit between Narsaq and Qaqortoq. However, the latest approval does not constitute final clearance for construction. According to the company, further clearances are still needed for, among other things, environmental management, occupational safety, and the export and sale of the minerals. It must also provide the prescribed financial security.

The approval covers all rare earth elements except scandium and promethium, as well as the technology metals zirconium, hafnium, tantalum and niobium. Promethium occurs naturally only in minute traces and is therefore virtually irrelevant to mining. Scandium, by contrast, is used in applications such as lightweight aluminum alloys and solid oxide fuel cells. Critical Metals did not explain why it was excluded; previous project documents do not identify scandium as a target product.

Extraction Could Prove Technically Challenging:

According to the company, Tanbreez contains a relatively high proportion of particularly critical heavy rare earths. However, the composition of eudialyte, the principal host mineral, could make extraction technically challenging. Relevant processes have so far been tested at laboratory and pilot scale.

Critical Metals is also developing the required infrastructure while the remaining permitting work continues. A pilot plant has been under construction since early 2026. Plans also call for some of the material eventually extracted to be processed in Romania and Saudi Arabia. It remains unclear when construction of the mine itself could begin.

RUSSIA BETS ON DOMESTIC RARE EARTH MAGNETS:

Russia’s nuclear and raw materials group Rosatom plans to ramp up rare-earth magnet production. In the city of Glazov in the Republic of Udmurtia, west of the Urals, annual output of 500 tonnes of magnets is scheduled to begin in 2029. Capacity could subsequently be increased to 1,000 tonnes, Andrei Andrianov, CEO of Rosatom Metal Tech, said at an industry event in Moscow.

According to Andrianov, the initial production volumes will effectively be a test. In the longer term, however, the project could help address a key problem for Russian industry. Without a sufficient domestic supply of magnets, manufacturers currently often have to import complete components. Domestic magnet production could therefore help bring more downstream manufacturing into the country and build additional expertise.

Construction in Glazov began in January last year. The site complements the existing Chepetsk Mechanical Plant, a metallurgy and nuclear fuel facility operated by Rosatom subsidiary TVEL. It is intended to become part of the group’s rare-earth and magnet value chain.