Highlights

• U.S. International Development Finance Corporation negotiating a $5 billion critical minerals investment fund with Orion Resource Partners
• Strategic technology collaborations and MOUs across U.S., Canada, Korea, and Australia aim to diversify rare earth production and processing
• Emerging mine-to-magnet architecture outside China focuses on pricing discipline, feedstock flexibility, and strategic international partnerships

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Below is a lifecycle-organized snapshot of material deal flow and policy moves from the week of Sept 15–19, 2025. We focus on financings, JVs/MOUs, offtakes, and government actions across the U.S., Europe, Canada, Japan, India, China, Africa—and note ex-China pricing/terms were disclosed.

Upstream (Mining& Projects)

United States / Global — Government co-investment push gains momentum

DFC–Orion $5 billion critical-minerals fund: On Sept 16, reputable outlets reported the U.S. International Development Finance Corporation (DFC) is negotiating a joint fund with Orion Resource Partners to invest in overseas mining (copper, rare earths, cobalt, etc.). Scale: multi-billion, with structures indicating blended equity/debt tranches and potential participation by other U.S./sovereign investors. If finalized, it would be one of DFC’s largest vehicles and a direct lever to de-risk non-Chinese supply chains.  See Rare Earth Exchanges (REEx).

Canada / UK / Germany — Fresh equity for recycling-anchored supply

Mkango Resources (AIM/TSXV: MKA) raised £3.0M (≈C$5.6M) (opens in a new tab) on Sept 18 via a private placement (10M units @ 30p with half-warrants), explicitly to advance rare-earth magnet recycling and manufacturing in the UK/Germany through Maginito/HyProMag. This is one of the week’s clearest, disclosed financings tied to REE supply.

Contextual note: No upstream bankruptcies announced this week in our target geographies.

Midstream (Processing, Separation & Refining)

U.S. / Canada–Australia — Tech collaboration to widen feedstock options

Ucore Rare Metals (Canada) signed a strategic technology collaboration with Metallium Ltd (Australia) announced Sept 16. Scope: integrate Flash Joule Heating (FJH) (Metallium) to produce chloride-compatible mixed REE products that feed Ucore’s RapidSX™ separation at its planned Louisiana refinery. The binding collaboration (12-month term) targets feedstock flexibility (e.g., mineral concentrates, magnet scrap, e-waste, phosphors) and aligns with U.S. defense-backed efforts to stand up domestic refining capacity.

Europe / Canada — Policy tailwinds, but this week’s headline is capacity enablement

Germany-EU supply risk persists: Despite EU-China discussions, European manufacturers reported continued rare-earth export license delays from China this week (Sept 17 reports), reinforcing the commercial case for EU/UK separation and recycling expansions (e.g., REEtec, Neo Estonia, HyProMag).

India / Myanmar (risk-tolerant sourcing)

Reporting this week again highlighted India’s scramble for Dy/Tb-rich feedstock, including contacts in Myanmar to secure heavy REE concentrates—illustrating how April-era Chinese controls still distort midstream sourcing strategies. (We flag this as policy/sourcing movement, not a closed transaction.) See REEx.

Downstream (Magnets & Manufacturing)

United States / South Korea — New integrated magnets MOU

ReElement Technologies (U.S.) and POSCO International (Korea) signed an MOU (opens in a new tab) (announced Sept 18–19) to develop a fully integrated U.S. rare-earth and magnet production complex. Concept: co-locate refining/separation → alloying → magnet fabrication → recycling at a single U.S. site; POSCO would lean on its manufacturing heft and automotive offtake, while ReElement contributes refining/recycling tech. Officials from both governments have been involved, suggesting a path to policy/financial support as the project advances from MOU toward definitive agreements. (Financial terms undisclosed.)

Pricing & Contract Terms (Ex-China signals)

• NdPr oxide (at least from a Chinese index) was stable to slightly soft around RMB ~569k–580k/ton during the week (≈ US$70–80/kg equivalent on common trackers), per Asian Metal snapshots aggregated by industry monitors (Sept 16–17). This level sits below the U.S. DoD-linked NdPr floor-price support embedded in MP-related contracts (earlier in summer), underscoring how sovereign price floors are insulating Western project economics from China-linked volatility. (Floor-price terms are not new this week, but matter for interpreting current deals.)
• China exports: Fresh data out Sept 19–20 showed rare-earth product/magnet exports rebounded to multi-month highs in August, even as EU firms still report licensing delays—a contradictory signal that keeps Western buyers biased toward multi-year, take-or-pay or floor-price contracts with non-Chinese suppliers.

What’s New This Week vs. Background Context

• Squarely in-week, dated announcements:
• DFC–Orion fund talks (Sept 16)—major policy/financing catalyst for upstream globally.
• Ucore–Metallium strategic collaboration (Sept 16)—midstream tech stack integration to diversify feedstocks for U.S. refining.
• Mkango £3.0M private placement (Sept 18)—downstream-adjacent (recycling/alloys), concrete financing with terms disclosed.
• ReElement–POSCO MOU (Sept 18–19)—downstream buildout intent for first fully integrated U.S. magnets complex (terms TBD).
• EU license delays in China (press coverage Sept 17), and August export surge (coverage Sept 19–20)—market context shaping deal terms.
• Deliberately not counted as “this week” deals: Prior notable items (e.g., Apple–MP $500M magnet pact in July, Lynas A$750M raise in late Aug, Energy Fuels mine-to-magnet validation on Sept 9) remain context, but we exclude them from this week’s tally per your scope.
  

Read-Across by Geography

• United States: Policy leadership drove the newsflow (DFC fund talks; U.S.–Korea MOU on an integrated magnet complex; tech tie-ins for Louisiana refining). Expect knock-on effects in project bankability and offtake structuring.
• Europe/UK: Financing (Mkango) continues to favor recycling and circular feedstocks, while export licensing friction with China keeps OEMs and magnet makers pushing for non-Chinese inputs.
• Canada–Australia: Cross-border tech collaborations (Ucore–Metallium) remain a pragmatic route to accelerate midstream capacity for allied supply chains.
• India/ASEAN/Africa: India’s heavy-REE sourcing urgency (Dy/Tb) persists; Africa’s Namibia and others remain strategically relevant but no new African deals were announced this week in our scan.

What Investors Should Watch Next

1. Definitive documentation & capex: Can ReElement–POSCO convert the MOU into a site-specific, financed project with capacity targets and dates? (Key for valuing U.S. downstream.)
2. DFC–Orion fund close: Size, governance, and first deployment pipeline (Africa/Europe targets) will determine how quickly upstream bottlenecks ease.
3. Contract mechanics vs. China volatility: Watch for more floor-price/collar constructs in ex-China offtakes as EU licensing frictions and China export swings continue.
4. Feedstock-agnostic refining: Proof points that FJH → RapidSX™ can handle recycled and unconventional feeds at commercial scale would materially de-risk non-Chinese midstream.

Bottom Line (Sept15–19)

This week delivered one concrete financing (Mkango £3.0M), two significant strategic frameworks (DFC–Orion fund talks; ReElement–POSCO MOU), and a midstream tech partnership (Ucore–Metallium). Together, they reinforce the emerging mine-to-magnet architecture outside China, with pricing discipline (floors/collars) and feedstock flexibility as the operational playbook. Expect follow-through in Q4 as these items convert to capacity, contracts, and capex.

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