Highlights

• Major international efforts emerge to develop non-Chinese rare earth mining, processing, and magnet manufacturing capabilities.
• Key countries like the US, Australia, Canada, and France are advancing strategic investments and long-term offtake agreements to secure critical mineral supplies.
• New multi-year contracts and government-backed financing are reshaping the rare earth industry's approach to supply chain security.

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Global rare earth supply chain realignment accelerated this week, with new deals spanning mining ventures, processing partnerships, and magnet manufacturing. The urgency as reported by Rare Earth Exchanges (REEx) was underscored by China’s move on Oct. 9 to expand export controls to additional rare earths, tightening its grip on magnet materials. In response, countries like the United States, Australia, Canada, and France advanced “ex-China” alliances – securing critical minerals through long-term offtake contracts, strategic financings, and government-backed investments. Below, we summarize the week’s key rare earth deals across the value chain, from upstream mining to downstream magnet production, highlighting the emerging trends in pricing and contract terms outside China.

Upstream – Mining Offtakes and Project Investments

Drill rig at the Tanbreez rare earth project in Greenland (Critical Metals Corp.)

Greenland/USA

Tanbreez Offtake with REalloys (opens in a new tab): New York-based Critical Metals Corp. inked a second major offtake for its Tanbreez heavy rare earth deposit in Greenland. The letter of intent with Ohio’s REalloys establishes a 10-year supply agreement for 15% of Tanbreez’s annual output. This follows an August deal (10% of output) with Ucore, bringing 25% of Tanbreez’s future production under U.S. commitment. REalloys – which operates a full-cycle rare earth separation and magnet plant in Ohio – lauded Tanbreez’s rich heavy-element content (dysprosium, terbium) as “vital to the defense industrial base” of the U.S. The partnership, still at the LOI stage, signals growing U.S. demand for non-Chinese heavy REE supply. Alongside the offtake, Critical Metals raised $35 million in new equity funding from an institutional investor to advance Tanbreez, shortly after boosting its ownership in the project to 92.5%. These moves position Tanbreez as a cornerstone of the emerging Western rare earth supply chain.

Brazil/France (EU)

10-Year Heavy Rare Earth Partnership: Australian-listed Brazilian Rare Earths (BRE) struck a landmark deal with France’s Carester SAS to develop Brazil’s vast rare earth reserves. Announced Oct. 8, the agreement includes Carester offtaking up to 150 tonnes per year of dysprosium and terbium from BRE’s future Brazilian production over an initial 10-year term. Carester will also provide engineering expertise for BRE’s planned separation plant at the Camaçari industrial complex in Bahia. This heavy REE feedstock deal is timed “as western countries seek to rely less on the China-dominated supply chain”. Notably, Carester’s own rare earth separation and recycling facility under construction in France has over €216 million backing from the French government and Japanese partners, reflecting robust allied support. By securing a long-term dysprosium-terbium source in Brazil – enough to meet an estimated ~10% of Western demand – this partnership diversifies supply for Europe’s magnet industry while bringing technical know-how to South America’s resource base.

Australia

Arafura’s $85 Million Nolan's Funding: Arafura Rare Earths completed critical financing steps for its flagship Nolan's project in Australia’s Northern Territory. On Oct. 2, the company closed (opens in a new tab) Tranche 2 of an A$80 million ($51 million USD) private placement, issuing 51.4 million shares to raise A$9.8 million (following A$70.2 M raised in Tranche 1 in August). In parallel, Arafura ran a share purchase pla (opens in a new tab)n for retail investors (at A$0.19/share, the placement price) which closed Oct. 3, targeting an additional A$5 million. In total, roughly A$85 million in new equity was secured to advance Nolan’s mine and on-site refinery. This fresh capital – combined with earlier commitments like Australia’s National Reconstruction Fund (A$200 M) and an up to A$840 million government loan package announced for Nolans in 2022 – materially de-risks the project’s funding. Nolans is on track to become a significant ex-China source of NdPr (neodymium-praseodymium) oxide for magnets, with first production targeted in 2027. Note Arafura also reported on Oct. 10 that its retail Share Purchase Plan (SPP) was oversubscribed, drawing ≈ A$9.83 million in applications against a A$5 million target—further proof of robust investor confidence in Nolans

Canada

Government Backing for Wicheeda Project: In Canada, Defense Metals Corp. reported (opens in a new tab) momentum in securing public financing for its Wicheeda rare earth deposit in British Columbia. The company received a letter of interest from Export Development Canada (EDC) to act as lead arranger for up to US$250 million in debt financing to build Wicheeda’s mine and processing plant. This indicative support from Canada’s export credit agency, alongside ongoing talks with the federal Critical Minerals Infrastructure Fund, underlines Ottawa’s commitment to critical mineral projects. Defense Metals – which, in an Oct 6 update, noted (opens in a new tab) it has an MoU for a major supply/offtake deal and is in discussions with other potential partners – called the government’s engagement “productive.” Wicheeda is the most advanced rare earth project in North America with proven reserves (per a 2025 PFS), and EDC’s involvement could significantly lower the cost of capital. The company also announced it is now debt-free after recent capital raises, improving its position as it moves toward a 2026 feasibility study and permitting. Such government-backed financing interest, coming the same week as similar U.S. and European initiatives, highlights the new model of public-private partnership in rare earth development.

Downstream – Magnet Supply Chain and Manufacturing Deals

United States

Lynas & Noveon Forge Magnet Alliance: A high-profile transpacific partnership was unveiled to build a domestic U.S. rare earth magnet supply chain. Lynas Rare Earths (ASX: LYC), Australia’s leading rare earth producer, signed an MoU with Texas-based Noveon Magnetics to collaborate on U.S. production of neodymium-iron-boron (NdFeB) permanent magnets. The deal will see Lynas supply Noveon with both light and heavy rare earth feedstocks from its operations (e.g. NdPr from Mt Weld, and possibly Dy/Tb sourced via Lynas’ network) to feed Noveon’s magnet manufacturing. In turn, **Noveon will scale up magnet output for U.S. end-users in the defense, automotive, and industrial sectors – markets currently almost entirely reliant on Chinese magnets. “This partnership delivers what the U.S. government needs most: capacity, certainty and speed,” said Noveon CEO Scott Dunn as cited by Reuters (opens in a new tab). The companies plan to finalize a definitive agreement and will work closely with the U.S. government and customers to support the venture. Notably, Noveon already has a supply contract with General Motors for EV magnets, and Lynas recently raised capital to expand in North America. This Lynas–Noveon alliance, with its fully traceable “mine-to-magnet” vision, is poised to provide the U.S. a secure magnet source outside China.

Europe

Neo’s Estonia Magnet Plant & German Offtakes: Europe achieved a critical milestone in its magnet supply chain with the opening of Neo Performance Materials’ magnet factory in Estonia (opens in a new tab) – the first NdFeB magnet plant on European soil. At the Oct. 6 inauguration, Neo announced it has signed supply contracts with auto-parts giants Bosch and Schaeffler of Germany. These agreements will off-take a significant portion of the plant’s output, which at full capacity will be 2,000 tpa of magnets (enough for 1 million EVs or 1,000 wind turbines) as covered in September by Mining.com (opens in a new tab). The Narva, Estonia, facility sits adjacent to Neo’s rare earth separations plant and was supported by an EU Just Transition Fund grant of up to €18.7 million. European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen hailed the project, saying “the rare earth magnets produced here are indispensable to growth and innovation,” and noted the EU’s goal to reduce China’s ~98% share of Europe’s magnet supply. Neo’s CEO affirmed plans to scale magnet output to 5,000 tpa to meet surging demand. With secure contracts now in place with Bosch and Schaeffler, Neo has effectively linked European rare earth materials to European finished magnet users – a major step toward supply chain resilience.

Ex-China Pricing and Contract Terms in Focus

A defining feature we continue to report is the emergence of new pricing and contract structures aimed at reducing Chinese leverage. Traditional rare earth contracts often lacked transparency and were short-term, but the latest ex-China agreements show a shift toward long-term, fixed-volume deals with embedded price stability mechanisms. For example, the U.S.–MP Materials partnership sets a floor price of $110/kg for NdPr oxide in an effort to guarantee profitability for domestic producers. This effectively insures the project against price volatility (NdPr currently trades near that range) and encourages expansion by removing downside price risk.

Likewise, many recent offtakes span 5 to 10+ year terms with locked-in volumes – e.g. REalloys’ 10-year agreement for 15% of Tanbreez output or Carester’s decade-long contract for 150 tpy of Brazilian Dy/Tb – which help justify the large up-front capital investments in new mines and plants. While specific pricing in these commercial offtakes is not publicly disclosed, industry analysts note that Western buyers are increasingly willing to sign at higher-than-spot prices or indexed (Chinese) formulas to secure reliable non-Chinese supply. In some cases, governments themselves are stepping in as financiers or customers of last resort (through loans, equity stakes, or stockpiling purchases) to underwrite the economics of new projects.

The net result is an evolving “ex-China” pricing paradigm: one focused on long-term stability and security of supply rather than lowest immediate cost. This week’s flurry of deals – replete with multi-year terms, guaranteed minimums, and public funding support – illustrates how the rare earth industry is rewriting its contract playbook to put a true market value on supply chain security finally.