Highlights

• American Resources closed $33M financing and Critical Metals secured $50M for Greenland's Tanbreez project, fueling domestic rare earth extraction and heavy REE supply outside China.
• Multi-year offtake agreements with guaranteed pricing now define the ex-China market, with buyers paying 15-30% premiums to secure non-Chinese supply amid Beijing's export controls.
• Countries from Japan to India are mobilizing trade deals and government financing while China tightened export restrictions on five more heavy rare earths, intensifying global supply chain urgency.

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Fewer deals were announced the week of October 13–17, 2025, but a handful  of notable transactions did occur across the supply chain – from upstream mining ventures and processing projects to downstream magnet manufacturing. These deals, spanning the United States, Europe (Greenland), and Asia, reflect the accelerating drive to build an ex-China rare earth supply chain. Notably, many agreements featured multi-year commitments, government support, and innovative pricing terms designed to secure stable supply outside China. Below we break down the week’s key developments by region, followed by an overview of emerging trends in pricing and contract structures.

United States: Financing & Partnerships to Boost Domestic Supply

American Resources Corp $33 Million Financing

U.S.-based American Resources Corporation (opens in a new tab) (NASDAQ: AREC) closed a $33 million PIPE financing (opens in a new tab) on October 13 to expand domestic rare earth extraction from coal waste. The funding, at $3.55 per share, will accelerate the company’s strategy of producing rare earth elements (like neodymium, praseodymium, dysprosium, terbium, gadolinium, yttrium) from vast already-mined coal waste deposits in Kentucky and West Virginia. American Resources touts these coal byproduct sites – over 120 million tons of material – as effectively “the largest rare earth mine in the United States,” now made economically viable by its refining affiliate ReElement Technologies (opens in a new tab). The capital injection enables American Resources and ReElement to scale up regional processing hubs, converting coal waste into mixed rare earth concentrates, which will feed ReElement’s high-purity separation facilities (targeting 99.9% pure oxides).

Company CEO Mark Jensen has noted on the Rare Earth Exchanges (REEx) podcast (opens in a new tab) that all he needed was capital to help America catch up with China.  Jenson recently shared that turning legacy coal refuse into a domestic source of critical minerals “is not only a commercial opportunity… but a national imperative” amid U.S. efforts to secure supply chains. This financing illustrates growing investor appetite to develop U.S. rare-earth resources and midstream capacity, especially through innovative sources such as mine waste.

No New M&A, But Continued Public-Private Support

No major U.S. rare earth acquisitions or joint ventures were announced during the week; however, the American Resources deal comes on the heels of intensifying U.S. government support for the sector. For example, in July, the U.S. Department of Defense took equity stakes in domestic producers (e.g., MP Materials) and has encouraged long-term offtake agreements with guaranteed pricing to spur investment. These policy moves form a backdrop for current deals. Earlier in October, Australia’s Lynas also signed an MoU to supply Texas-based Noveon Magnetics (opens in a new tab) with rare earth feedstock for U.S. magnet production, highlighting international partnerships to strengthen U.S. downstream capabilities. This was covered in last week’s news, but underscores the ongoing trend.

Rare Earth Exchanges was in Washington, DC this past week, learning that literally hundreds of companies are pitching the White House and associated executive branch agencies to fund their rare earth and critical mineral projects.

Europe/Greenland: Funding a Giant Heavy Rare Earth Project

$50 Million for Greenland’s Tanbreez Mine (Critical Metals Corp)

A significant upstream financing was announced in Europe’s sphere. Critical Metals Corp (opens in a new tab). (NASDAQ: CRML) – a New York-based company developing the massive Tanbreez rare earth deposit in Greenland – secured $50 million in new funding via a PIPE deal (opens in a new tab) on October 16. An unnamed institutional investor agreed to purchase $50M worth of shares and warrants, providing capital to advance Tanbreez’s development. Tanbreez is one of the world’s largest rare earth resources (estimated 4.7 billion tonnes, rich in heavy and medium REEs). The financing comes as Critical Metals aggressively locks in customers for Tanbreez’s future output: last week, the company signed a 10-year offtake LOI with Ohio-based REAlloys Inc. (opens in a new tab) for 15% of Tanbreez’s annual production. This follows an August agreement allocating 10% of output to Ucore Rare Metals, a U.S. processor. With 25% of Tanbreez’s supply now committed to U.S. allied buyers, the project is positioned as a cornerstone for Western heavy rare earth supply. REAlloys – which operates a full-cycle magnet alloy plant in Ohio – praised Tanbreez’s dysprosium/terbium-rich concentrate as “vital to the defense industrial base”. The offtake deals (currently at LOI stage) and fresh capital together “underscore a shared commitment to reducing China’s dominance in the global rare earth supply chain,” said Critical Metals CEO Tony Sage in a press release (opens in a new tab). In fact, this new funding also enabled Critical Metals to increase its ownership in Tanbreez to 92.5%, solidifying control. Bottom line: A major Western-heavy rare earth venture is moving forward, buoyed by investor confidence and long-term partnerships that will tie Greenland’s resources into U.S. and European value chains.

EU Downstream Note – Magnet Plant Offtakes

While no new Europe-specific rare earth deals were announced during Oct 13–17, it’s worth noting that the prior week Europe achieved a downstream milestone: Neo Performance Materials opened the EU’s first NdFeB magnet factory in Estonia on Oct 6, signing supply contracts with Germany’s Bosch and Schaeffler to offtake a significant share of its 2,000 tpa magnet output—see REEx. This exemplifies Europe’s push to localize the magnet supply chain. No similar announcement came this week, but Europe’s industry and governments remain active in seeking non-Chinese refining capacity.

Canada: Government Support Continues

Critical Minerals Financing Backing

Canada saw no major new rare earth deals during the week of Oct 13–17, but ongoing developments signal strong government support for projects. For instance, in the prior week Defense Metals Corp (opens in a new tab). reported that Export Development Canada (EDC) (opens in a new tab) issued a letter of interest to arrange up to US$250 million in debt financing for the Wicheeda REE mine/refinery (opens in a new tab) in British Columbia. See REEx. This prospective funding – alongside talks with Canada’s Critical Minerals Infrastructure Fund (opens in a new tab) – could cover a large portion of Wicheeda’s capex. The Canadian government’s engagement was described as “productive” by Defense Metals, and underscores Ottawa’s commitment to critical minerals projects. In short, while Canada had no new deal announcements this week, it is laying groundwork (via export credit agencies and funds) to finance domestic rare earth supply chains.

Junior Sector Notes

Several Canadian-affiliated juniors are also in the process of securing funding. For example, Australia’s Arafura (which has significant Canadian investors) completed an A$85 million (~US$51 M) equity raise earlier in October to advance its Nolans NdPr project. Likewise, struggling junior Search Minerals – now being integrated into USA Rare Earth – was arranging private placement financing as of Oct 10. These smaller financings illustrate that even minor players are seeking capital amid the sector’s momentum. However, no new junior financing deals were publicly finalized during the Oct 13–17 period.

Asia Focus: Japan & India Mobilize, China Tightens Grip

Japan – Securing Supply via Alliances

Japan did not announce a specific corporate deal in rare earths this week, but it continued high-level efforts to fortify supply chains. On Oct 15, at a G7 finance meeting in Washington, Japan’s Finance Minister Katsunobu Kato urged G7 unity against China’s rare earth export curbs, (opens in a new tab) voicing strong concern over Beijing’s restrictions. Japan is proactively diversifying sources – leveraging longstanding partnerships like its $250 M investment in Australia’s Lynas (via JOGMEC) – and is encouraging allied collaboration. Japanese officials have proposed deeper critical minerals cooperation with the U.S. and others. In short, while no new JV was inked this week, Japan is diplomatically and financially paving the way for future rare earth partnerships to blunt China’s leverage.

India –Government Eyes Trade Deals

India took steps to broaden its rare earth supply options. Speaking on Oct 17, India’s commerce minister Piyush Goyal revealed that India is negotiating trade agreements with Chile and Peru to access rare earth minerals (opens in a new tab) as part of a strategy to ease supply constraints. These talks come on top of an implemented critical minerals pact with Australia and are aimed at diversifying India’s sources beyond China. Domestically, India is also boosting exploration and encouraging startups to engage in rare earth recycling and processing of industrial wastes (opens in a new tab). During the week, India’s state-run firms continued to forge partnerships: for example, NLC India Ltd and IREL (opens in a new tab) (the Indian Rare Earths Ltd) in the spring signed an MoU to jointly develop critical minerals projects, including rare earth extraction from lignite mining byproducts (announced just prior to this week). While largely policy-driven, these moves underscore India’s intent to reduce import dependence.

China – No New Deals; New Export Controls

China itself did not report outward rare earth investment deals this week – instead, it doubled down on controlling its existing industry. As REEx reported, on Oct 9 (just before this week), Beijing dramatically expanded rare earth export controls, adding five more heavy rare earth elements (holmium, erbium, thulium, europium, ytterbium) to its restricted list and tightening rules on magnet alloy technologies. The new regulations (effective Nov 8 and Dec 1) will even require foreign companies that use Chinese rare earth materials or tech to obtain export licenses, extending China’s reach over global supply chains. These curbs – coming ahead of a Trump–Xi summit – illustrate China’s strategic use of its dominance in rare earths (responsible for ~90% of global processed REEs). The immediate impact was heightened urgency in the West to establish alternative supply lines. Indeed, U.S. officials said this week they are “closely assessing” the impact of China’s move, which was announced without notice.

In summary, China’s focus was on policy this week, not deal-making – a stark reminder of why so many new partnerships and investments are unfolding elsewhere. (Notably, earlier in October, there were reports that China is in talks with Malaysia’s Khazanah fund to build a rare earth processing plant in Malaysia – a potential China-Malaysia joint venture aimed at accessing Malaysia’s untapped rare earth reserves. If that materializes, it would be a rare example of China investing in refining technology abroad, but talks are preliminary. REEx has suggested that the U.S. government become far more proactive in Malaysia.

Africa & Others: Critical Mineral Initiatives

Africa – No New Deals This Week, But Ongoing Initiatives

During Oct 13–17, there were no high-profile rare earth deals announced in Africa. However, the continent remains a focal point for future agreements. Many African rare earth projects (e.g., in Tanzania, Malawi, Namibia, South Africa) are being courted by international partners. For instance, Rainbow Rare Earths – developing the Phalaborwa project in South Africa – recently attracted U.S. government support of $50 M (opens in a new tab) for its processing technology (announced late September). And last month Saudi Arabia unveiled a gold-backed Africa investment fund targeting critical minerals, which could inject capital into African rare earth mining. These earlier moves highlight the trend: resource-rich African nations are partnering with Western and Gulf investors to develop rare earth supply. While nothing new was signed in mid-October, industry watchers expect African projects to feature in upcoming deals as demand for diversified sources grows. Note REEx has reported on Hasetins Commodities and its $400 million rare earth processing plant initiative in Nigeria.  REEx is currently working on status updates.

Pensana was in the news for its USA pivot—which is understandable given America under President Donald Trump emerges as the ex-China nexus for the rare earth element supply chain.

One regional development adjacent to rare earths this week: as cited in Bloomberg, the African Finance Corporation invited bids on Oct 17 to build a key railway in Zambia’s Copperbelt (opens in a new tab), part of improving infrastructure for critical minerals transport. Such improvements could also facilitate future rare earth projects in Africa.

Middle East – Watching for Opportunities

No rare earth-specific deals were reported in the Middle East during the week. But the region’s interest is rising: notably, Saudi Arabia’s national mining company Ma’aden (opens in a new tab) signed an MoU earlier this year with MP Materials (opens in a new tab) to cooperate “from mining to magnet production” as part of Saudi Arabia’s Vision 2030 strategy. Gulf investors are positioning to back critical mineral ventures globally.

This week, Saudi representatives at London’s LME Week reiterated plans to deploy sovereign funds into mining assets worldwide (opens in a new tab). As rare earth opportunities emerge (in Africa or elsewhere), Middle Eastern capital may become increasingly involved, though no concrete partnership was announced in this particular week.

Ex-China Pricing & Contract Trends: New Norms Emerge

Crucially, the volume of deals over the past year highlights a transformation in rare earth contracting, especially for “ex-China” supply. Western buyers and investors are embracing longer-term, more transparent agreements to underpin non-Chinese projects. According to analysis by Rare Earth Exchanges, “across the board, ex-China rare earth deals now prioritize stability: guaranteed minimum pricing (or cost-sharing), assured volumes for 5–10+ years, and collaborative development of processing capabilities”. For example, industry reports indicate automakers and OEMs are now willing to pay 15–30% higher prices for magnets and materials produced outside China.

Indeed, after China’s export curbs in April and October, as cited in Reuters (opens in a new tab), many customers have dropped their resistance to paying a premium in order to secure a reliable supply. One concrete illustration: the U.S. Department of Defense’s recent magnet supply deal with MP Materials reportedly guarantees a floor price of $110/kg for NdPr oxide – effectively insuring the producer against price crashes while ensuring the buyer long-term access. Likewise, new offtake contracts often include take-or-pay clauses, indexed pricing, and even upstream equity investments or pre-payments by end-users. The emergence of a two-tier market – with higher “ex-China” prices versus domestic China prices – is now widely acknowledged and reported in REEx.

Benchmark Mineral Intelligence, for instance, launched separate ex-China rare earth price indices in July 2025, recognizing this bifurcation. In summary, the rare earth deals struck this week reinforce that the new normal is long-term, partnership-based contracts with built-in price floors and supply guarantees – a model aimed at giving non-Chinese projects the revenue certainty needed to get off the ground, while giving manufacturers supply chain security outside of China. As one industry insider put it, “there is no going back” from this new paradigm, which is accelerating the build-out of a mine-to-magnet ecosystem independent of China.