Archive | Element 17

One Western Producer Can Ship Heavy Rare Earths. Lifton Names the Rest as Unproven

Sep 21, 2026

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5 min read

One Western Producer Can Ship Heavy Rare Earths. Lifton Names the Rest as Unproven

A two-kilogram lab batch and a working refinery are both called production. Lifton's questions — what was made, how much, what grade, did a buyer take it, did they return — tell them apart

The 78-Year-Old French Factory That Quietly Started Separating Dysprosium, Terbium This Month

Sep 18, 2026

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5 min read

The 78-Year-Old French Factory That Quietly Started Separating Dysprosium, Terbium This Month

OneIM's $11.8 billion fund is circling a partnership. China's export control pause expires November 10. The alternatives are no longer hypothetical.

Honda Bets on a Magnet That Doesn't Need Rare Earths

Sep 17, 2026

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5 min read

Honda Bets on a Magnet That Doesn't Need Rare Earths

Iron and nitrogen, no neodymium required — the question is whether Niron Magnetics can match 44 years of NdFeB dominance before the supply chain forces the issue.

107 Days, Three Deadlines — and China Still Makes 93% of the World's Rare Earth Magnets

Sep 16, 2026

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5 min read

107 Days, Three Deadlines — and China Still Makes 93% of the World's Rare Earth Magnets

The DFARS ban on Chinese magnets in U.S. weapons systems is law — no summit can touch it. The November 10 export-control expiry is a negotiation. Only one of those has a back door.

From an Old Laptop to a 144,000-Square-Foot Rare Earth Plant

Sep 15, 2026

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5 min read

From an Old Laptop to a 144,000-Square-Foot Rare Earth Plant

Cyclic Materials opened its first U.S. commercial-scale rare earth magnet recycling plant in Mesa, with capacity for 25,000 tonnes a year and more than 7,000 tonnes of feedstock already delivered.

$2.9 Billion Committed, and the Middle of America's Magnet Supply Chain Is Still Missing

Sep 14, 2026

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5 min read

$2.9 Billion Committed, and the Middle of America's Magnet Supply Chain Is Still Missing

Jack Lifton's argument: a financing closes in a day while building process knowledge takes years — and the IEA's own data shows planned magnet production covers only one-third of expected mined supply by 2035.

Tesla Built a Rare-Earth-Free Motor. Neodymium Shrugged.

Sep 11, 2026

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6 min read

Tesla Built a Rare-Earth-Free Motor. Neodymium Shrugged.

Only 45 Cybercabs are registered in Texas — proving a motor works in a robotaxi is a different problem from pulling rare earths out of three million cars a year.

Sep 10, 2026

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5 min read

The Pause Expires in Sixty-One Days

Xi Jinping arrives in Washington on September 24. What the two leaders settle — or don't — will determine whether November 10 is a turning point or a reckoning delayed.

Japan Cut Chinese Dysprosium Imports 82% This Year. Its Factories Kept Running.

Sep 9, 2026

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5 min read

Japan Cut Chinese Dysprosium Imports 82% This Year. Its Factories Kept Running.

Sixteen years of stockpiling, funded offtake deals, and magnet recycling — the Tokyo conference opening today is a masterclass in building supply security backward, from finished magnet to raw ore.

The Pentagon Needs Half of Every Non-Chinese Magnet by 2030

Sep 8, 2026

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5 min read

The Pentagon Needs Half of Every Non-Chinese Magnet by 2030

A Sprott report maps the arithmetic: a $110-per-kilogram Pentagon price floor at MP Materials, nearly $1 billion in U.S. government commitments, and still a race against thirty years of Chinese industrial policy.

No Order Was Given. Chinese Rare Earth Suppliers Stopped Shipping to the U.S. Anyway

Sep 7, 2026

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4 min read

No Order Was Given. Chinese Rare Earth Suppliers Stopped Shipping to the U.S. Anyway

Washington is racing to build supply chains one mine at a time. Beijing is building a network — railways, ports, refineries, and alliances, all connected.

Xi Builds a Railway, Builds an Alliance, and Waits for Trump

Sep 4, 2026

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5 min read

Xi Builds a Railway, Builds an Alliance, and Waits for Trump

Washington is racing to build supply chains one mine at a time. Beijing is building a network — railways, ports, refineries, and alliances, all connected.

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One Western Producer Can Ship Heavy Rare Earths. Lifton Names the Rest as Unproven

The 78-Year-Old French Factory That Quietly Started Separating Dysprosium, Terbium This Month

Honda Bets on a Magnet That Doesn't Need Rare Earths

107 Days, Three Deadlines — and China Still Makes 93% of the World's Rare Earth Magnets

From an Old Laptop to a 144,000-Square-Foot Rare Earth Plant

$2.9 Billion Committed, and the Middle of America's Magnet Supply Chain Is Still Missing

Tesla Built a Rare-Earth-Free Motor. Neodymium Shrugged.

The Pause Expires in Sixty-One Days

Japan Cut Chinese Dysprosium Imports 82% This Year. Its Factories Kept Running.

The Pentagon Needs Half of Every Non-Chinese Magnet by 2030

No Order Was Given. Chinese Rare Earth Suppliers Stopped Shipping to the U.S. Anyway

Xi Builds a Railway, Builds an Alliance, and Waits for Trump

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