Rising Treasury yields from U.S.-Iran tensions and sovereign debt concerns threaten financing for capital-intensive rare earth and critical mineral projects.
Country Profile
Belgium
Country
Overview
About Belgium
Belgium has no rare-earth mining, and USGS lists no Belgian production or reserves. Its place in the supply chain comes from a company head office and a university research institute.
The company is Solvay, whose registered seat is in Brussels and whose shares trade on Euronext Brussels and Paris. Solvay owns the rare-earth separation plant at La Rochelle in France, which it says can process the full range of rare-earth elements at industrial scale. It has added a production line there for the rare earths used in permanent magnets.
The institute is SIM² at KU Leuven, which researches metals recycling and set up a knowledge platform on rare-earth recycling. It holds that even complete recycling cannot meet demand for metals such as rare earths without responsible primary mining.
In an interview with Malay Mail, Belgium's deputy prime minister offered Malaysia technology transfer, pointing to the expertise of Solvay and Umicore. Whether the pitch turns into licensing, joint ventures or plants is the open question.
Mine Production & Reserves
Policy & Regulation
Rare Earth Elements
Mining Projects
Processing Facilities
Headquartered Companies
Deals & Transactions
REEx Intelligence
Recent Articles
Zinc of Ireland accelerates ARGO pilot plant targeting gallium, germanium and indium recovery from zinc-leach residues by early 2027.
Southern Alliance Mining met with Malaysia's JMG to advance heavy rare earth development, as global powers compete for access to dysprosium and terbium
Malaysia seeks Chinese tech to build a rare earth midstream industry, but true IP transfer remains uncertain as Western powers also compete for influence.
China controls the conversion layer across 20 critical minerals. REEx ranks U.S. vulnerabilities from gallium to platinum—and why mining alone won't fix it.
Belgium backs Umicore's Congolese germanium plant, signaling Western governments are underwriting critical mineral supply chains to reduce reliance on China.
Rare Earth Exchanges visits Idaho National Laboratory's new antimony pilot facility with Perpetua Resources, marking a tangible step toward U.S. critical
Malaysia's Parliament urges a national rare earth strategy as global powers compete for its ionic clay deposits, signaling a shift from resource ownership
