Archive | Element 17

Aug 10, 2026

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5 min read

China Squeezed Its Own Magnet Factories

In 2011, Beijing's own magnet makers buckled under prices China had pushed too high — and it just happened again in Zhejiang. We've been tracking the countdown to November 10 since our first issue on this; this is the clearest sign yet of what's at stake if the truce doesn't hold.

The Clay Deposit That Gave China Its Rare Earth Grip Just Found a Rival – in Brazil

Aug 7, 2026

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5 min read

The Clay Deposit That Gave China Its Rare Earth Grip Just Found a Rival – in Brazil

IMC Rare Earths raised $20 million and started trading on NYSE American on July 29. Its Brazilian deposit sits on the same kind of clay that built China's dysprosium and terbium monopoly in the first place.

Malaysia Weighs Easing Its Rare Earth Export Ban, With Conditions Attached

Aug 5, 2026

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5 min read

Malaysia Weighs Easing Its Rare Earth Export Ban, With Conditions Attached

US, Australia, France, and India are all asking. Malaysia is willing to answer — but only for buyers who bring technology transfer and investment, not just cash.

Ninety-Eight Days: the Rare Earth Deadline Washington Can't Afford to Miss

Aug 4, 2026

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5 min read

Ninety-Eight Days: the Rare Earth Deadline Washington Can't Afford to Miss

Two executive orders in ten days — one ends waivers for defense firms buying Chinese minerals, the other locks down the scrap that was quietly leaving the country.

Trump Invokes the Defense Production Act to Stop Critical Mineral Scrap From Leaving the Country

Aug 3, 2026

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6 min read

Trump Invokes the Defense Production Act to Stop Critical Mineral Scrap From Leaving the Country

Two executive orders in ten days — one ends waivers for defense firms buying Chinese minerals, the other locks down the scrap that was quietly leaving the country.

A Kilogram of Dysprosium: $262 Inside China, $2,250 Outside It

Jul 31, 2026

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6 min read

A Kilogram of Dysprosium: $262 Inside China, $2,250 Outside It

Same metal, same purity, eightfold price gap. The Pentagon just put $1.225 billion behind two companies racing to close it – but neither has broken ground yet

Japan Pulls Rare Earth Mud From 6,000 Meters — and Finds 54% Medium and Heavy Elements

Jul 29, 2026

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4 min read

Japan Pulls Rare Earth Mud From 6,000 Meters — and Finds 54% Medium and Heavy Elements

Medium and heavy rare earths – the ones China guards most tightly – made up 54% of what Japan just pulled off the ocean floor. The catch: extraction could cost up to 20 times more than buying from China.

The Same Yttrium Oxide Costs 149 Times More in Europe Than in China

Jul 27, 2026

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6 min read

The Same Yttrium Oxide Costs 149 Times More in Europe Than in China

Same oxide, same purity grade. Inside China it's $7.88 a kilogram. In Europe, $1,175. That gap is what export controls look like when they work.

Sprott Makes the Case: AI Has Become the Third Driver of Rare Earth Demand

Jul 24, 2026

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5 min read

Sprott Makes the Case: AI Has Become the Third Driver of Rare Earth Demand

The five biggest hyperscalers committed $400 billion to data centers in 2025. Every one of them needs rare earth magnets to run – and China makes 94% of the world's supply

94% of Permanent Magnets Come From One Country. Every New Data Center Tightens That Grip

Jul 22, 2026

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5 min read

94% of Permanent Magnets Come From One Country. Every New Data Center Tightens That Grip

The fans cooling hyperscale servers run on NdFeB magnets — the same supply chain serving EV motors and missile guidance. Sprott's Schoffstall laid out why $400 billion in annual AI capex now belongs in any rare earth demand thesis

DOE Awards $134M for Rare Earth Projects — While the U.S. Counts Fewer Than 100 Trained Refiners

Jul 20, 2026

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5 min read

DOE Awards $134M for Rare Earth Projects — While the U.S. Counts Fewer Than 100 Trained Refiners

Jack Lifton, 86, is one of the few Americans who has refined rare earths by hand. Bloomberg argues the talent shortage — not capital or geology — is the West's deepest vulnerability.

U.S.A. Rare Earth Pulled Dysprosium From Factory Scrap – and Called It a Closed Loop

Jul 17, 2026

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4 min read

U.S.A. Rare Earth Pulled Dysprosium From Factory Scrap – and Called It a Closed Loop

USA Rare Earth just joined a group you can count on one hand – Western companies that can separate dysprosium at commercial scale. This time the source wasn't a mine. It was scrap from their own factory

SEE MORE BRIEFINGS

China Squeezed Its Own Magnet Factories

The Clay Deposit That Gave China Its Rare Earth Grip Just Found a Rival – in Brazil

Malaysia Weighs Easing Its Rare Earth Export Ban, With Conditions Attached

Ninety-Eight Days: the Rare Earth Deadline Washington Can't Afford to Miss

Trump Invokes the Defense Production Act to Stop Critical Mineral Scrap From Leaving the Country

A Kilogram of Dysprosium: $262 Inside China, $2,250 Outside It

Japan Pulls Rare Earth Mud From 6,000 Meters — and Finds 54% Medium and Heavy Elements

The Same Yttrium Oxide Costs 149 Times More in Europe Than in China

Sprott Makes the Case: AI Has Become the Third Driver of Rare Earth Demand

94% of Permanent Magnets Come From One Country. Every New Data Center Tightens That Grip

DOE Awards $134M for Rare Earth Projects — While the U.S. Counts Fewer Than 100 Trained Refiners

U.S.A. Rare Earth Pulled Dysprosium From Factory Scrap – and Called It a Closed Loop

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