Weekly News Review September 7 – September 13 2026

Once again this week, Brazil attracted international attention for its mineral wealth. Greenland is also rich in raw materials, but efforts to develop its critical resources face different hurdles, including its remote location, lack of infrastructure, and challenging conditions for new mining projects. – Read more in our Roundup.

JAPAN INVESTS IN RARE EARTH EXPLORATION IN BRAZIL:

Japan is seeking to secure early access to rare earth resources in Brazil. The state-run Japan Organization for Metals and Energy Security (JOGMEC) has announced a joint venture with Canadian company Aclara, which is developing rare earth deposits in Brazil (PDF). The cooperation will focus on exploring and advancing rare earth deposits hosted in ionic clays. These can contain comparatively high proportions of heavy rare earth elements and are often easier to develop than conventional hard-rock deposits.

JOGMEC plans to invest up to US$3 million in exploration over the next three years. Under certain conditions, it may increase the amount by a further US$1.5 million. In return, the organization will have the option to acquire a 30% interest in one of Aclara’s Brazilian exploration projects. Following a successful earn-in period, JOGMEC will also be entitled to secure offtake rights for part of the project’s future production and may transfer these rights to Japanese companies or consortia. Aclara’s more advanced Carina Project is excluded from the joint venture.

CHINA’S RARE EARTH EXPORTS RISE IN JULY:

China’s rare earth exports rose again in August compared with the previous month. After around 4,224 tonnes in July, shipments increased to approximately 4,735 tonnes, up about 12%, according to preliminary data from China’s customs authority. However, exports remain below the previous year’s level so far in 2026: From January through August, China exported around 39,441 tonnes, 11.1% less than in the same period of 2025. By contrast, reported export value increased by 53.5%. This may reflect higher prices for certain rare earths as well as changes in the product mix.

UNITED STATES: RARE EARTH MAGNET FACILITY TO OPEN IN ARIZONA –

Canadian rare earth recycler Cyclic Materials opened a new facility in Mesa, Arizona, on Wednesday. The site will use automated processes to recover rare earth magnets from end-of-life products such as electric motors, hard disk drives, and wind turbine generators. According to the company, it is the first U.S. facility of its kind operating at commercial scale. The startup has secured Canadian government support to scale its recycling technology.

The Mesa plant can mechanically process up to 25,000 metric tons of magnet-bearing end-of-life products annually, the company said. The process produces Mag-Xtract, a concentrate of rare earth magnet material that can be reintegrated into the value chain following further processing. According to Cyclic, the operation also recovers copper, aluminum, and steel. The first deliveries to U.S. customers are expected later in September.

Cyclic is working with Canadian company Ucore Rare Metals, among others, to establish rare earth supply chains outside market leader China. It is also pursuing partnerships with European players such as Solvay and with companies active in Europe, including Neo Performance Materials. Against a backdrop of rising raw material demand and geographically concentrated production, rare earth recycling is becoming increasingly important for supply security.

GREENLAND AND EU DEEPEN COOPERATION:

Brussels has unveiled a €200 million investment package that will also support sustainable mining projects. However, developing Greenland’s extensive mineral resources remains challenging.

European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen announced closer cooperation with the Arctic island during a visit to Greenland. Together with Greenlandic Prime Minister Jens-Frederik Nielsen and Danish Prime Minister Mette Frederiksen, she signed a Joint Declaration on Monday.

Through Global Gateway, the EU’s worldwide investment program, Brussels will also provide €200 million for joint projects with Greenland this year and next. In addition to digital connectivity, energy supply, tourism and housing, the package will support critical raw materials. Specifically, the EU plans to assist sustainable mining projects linked to European industry through measures such as technical assessments and investor matchmaking.

Existing Partnership to Be Expanded:

The new agreement builds on a raw materials partnership concluded in late 2023. While the EU aims to diversify its raw materials supply, Greenland wants to broaden an economy that remains heavily dependent on fishing and financial support from Denmark. The largely self-governing island is part of the Kingdom of Denmark but not the European Union.

In March 2024, it opened the first EU office in Nuuk and announced investments worth millions of euros, including in critical raw materials.

Greenland’s Mineral Resources: Major Potential, Major Challenges

Greenland hosts numerous mineral deposits containing raw materials European industry needs. These include rare earths, graphite, niobium and tantalum, platinum group metals, molybdenum, zinc, lead and germanium.

So far, however, the Amitsoq graphite project is the only Greenlandic project recognized as a Strategic Project under the EU’s Critical Raw Materials Act. According to a recent study by Germany’s Federal Institute for Geosciences and Natural Resources (BGR), other deposits could also become important for the bloc’s raw materials supply, including the Malmbjerg molybdenum project. However, the agency cautioned that Greenland cannot make a meaningful contribution to raw materials supply security in Germany or the wider EU in the short term, as most deposits remain at the exploration or permitting stage.

EU AND CHINA IN TALKS ON TRADE DISPUTE:

Back in June, the EU called for progress in its trade dispute with China by October. The bloc has now reiterated that deadline and stepped up pressure. Beijing must signal its willingness to cooperate and take concrete steps by early next month, EU Trade Commissioner Maroš Šefčovič said at a panel discussion in Berlin, Reuters reported.

The EU is calling on China to take action to address the widening trade imbalance. According to Eurostat data, the EU’s goods trade deficit with China reached almost €360 billion in 2025. European exports to China fell by 6.5% year on year, while imports from China rose by 6.4%.

The bloc has also called for improved market access for European companies and raised concerns about critical-goods supplies. In June, Šefčovič pointed to export controls through which China, the world’s leading producer, regulates exports of certain rare earth products. He has now also called for clarity on exports of legacy chips—semiconductors made using older but still widely used manufacturing processes. The EU commissioner also proposed initially agreeing on pilot schemes for selected product groups to determine whether consultations can resolve the issues.

Šefčovič plans to travel to Beijing in early October to continue the trade talks and assess the progress made by then. If concrete results fail to materialize, he said political pressure within the EU to seek alternative solutions is likely to increase.

Lack of Infrastructure and Arctic Climate Hamper Mining:

According to BGR, the main obstacles include the widespread lack of infrastructure, high investment costs, Arctic climatic conditions and often limited public acceptance. Two prominent examples illustrate how strongly these factors can affect project development. Construction of a pilot plant for the Tanbreez rare earth project began in early 2026, but the deposit’s complex mineralogy makes extraction technically challenging and costly.

Kvanefjeld, another rare earth project, has been stalled for years because of the deposit’s uranium content. Legislation adopted in 2021 prohibits the exploration and mining of deposits above a specified uranium threshold. Its adoption followed debate over potential environmental risks and strong opposition among residents.