Highlights

• China's Shenghe Resources acquires Peak Rare Earths' high-grade Ngualla Project for $96.62 million.
• The acquisition advances Beijing's global rare earth domination plan.
• Represents a deliberate strategy to control critical mineral resources.
• Aims to prevent competing supply chains.
• Seeks to suppress global market prices.
• Reflects China's broader geopolitical approach.
• Part of a strategy to systematically accumulate and weaponize the global rare earth supply chain.

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In an era defined by supply chain warfare, China has accelerated its strategy of global rare earth domination—not just through export controls, but by quietly accumulating ownership of high-grade projects abroad. The recent acquisition of Peak Rare Earths (opens in a new tab) by China’s Shenghe Resources (opens in a new tab) marks another tactical move: acquire, consolidate, and flood the market to suppress global prices and stifle non-Chinese competitors before they scale.

Enter Brazilian Rare Earths (BRE).

See the announcement (opens in a new tab) via Peak Rare Earths.

Analysis

In a move with sweeping geopolitical implications, Chinese-linked Shenghe Resources will acquire 100% of Peak Rare Earths (ASX: PEK) via a scheme of arrangement, effectively securing control over the Ngualla Project (opens in a new tab)—one of the highest-grade undeveloped bastnaesite deposits in the world. The A$150.5 million ($96.62 million) cash acquisition and a last-minute A$7.5 million entitlement raise signals more than just M&A activity: it reflects China’s deliberate strategy to lock down critical mineral resources, prevent competing supply chains, and suppress global prices.

The Strategy: Global Monopoly, Local Control

Let’s be clear—this is not a passive financial investment. Shenghe, a publicly listed but politically aligned company with deep ties to China’s rare earth industrial policy, is executing Beijing’s playbook:

• Acquire non-Chinese rare earth assets quietly or through distressed equity raises.
• Keep concentrating on China for processing, not diversification.
• Maintain price pressure on Western producers to kill rival projects before they reach scale.

The Ngualla asset, previously positioned as a potential cornerstone of non-Chinese rare earth diversification, will now serve to bolster Chinese dominance. Shenghe is already the largest importer of rare earth concentrate into China. The move follows Shenghe’s recent activity in Tanzania’s Nyati mineral sands and fits into a broader consolidation trend.

Regulatory Theater, Strategic Consequence

While the transaction is being dressed in regulatory formalities and a 199% premium to Peak’s last share price, the core concern remains: yet another Tier-1 rare earth project has slipped into Chinese hands. With Peak’s board supporting the deal and Tanzanian government approval virtually guaranteed, the only remaining barrier is Chinese regulatory consent—a telling irony.

If this deal closes by October, as planned, China will not only secure another major upstream resource but also deny Western markets one of the few shovel-ready rare earth sources not already controlled by Beijing.

Bottom Line

This is not just a corporate deal—it’s an extension of China’s resource power projection. With Western nations still struggling to coordinate industrial policy, Beijing continues to accumulate and weaponize the global rare earth supply chain, asset by asset, ton by ton.