Archive | Element 17

China's New Plan: Own the Finish Line, Not Just the Mine

Sep 3, 2026

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5 min read

China's New Plan: Own the Finish Line, Not Just the Mine

MIIT's 2026–2030 blueprint shifts Beijing's declared goal from 'scale leadership' to 'comprehensive leadership' — covering patents, global standards, and finished products, not just tonnes mined.

Greenland's First Rare Earth Mine: a $35 Million Deal and a 170-Year Echo

Sep 2, 2026

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5 min read

Greenland's First Rare Earth Mine: a $35 Million Deal and a 170-Year Echo

The same island that fed the world's aluminum industry from a single hillside is now positioned to supply 34% of all NdPr refined outside China.

Lynas Earned A$222 Million. Its Dysprosium Plant Came in 63% Over Budget Because the Machines Only Exist in China

Sep 1, 2026

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5 min read

Lynas Earned A$222 Million. Its Dysprosium Plant Came in 63% Over Budget Because the Machines Only Exist in China

Record revenue, floor-price deals from Washington and Tokyo, A$1.2B in cash — and none of it solves the equipment problem at the core of the overrun.

A Fishing Boat in 2010 Sent Terbium up 900%. Japan Just Cleared an American Supplier Instead.

Aug 31, 2026

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6 min read

A Fishing Boat in 2010 Sent Terbium up 900%. Japan Just Cleared an American Supplier Instead.

Energy Fuels' terbium oxide passed every test set by one of the world's largest magnet makers outside China. The approval is final. The material can go straight to the production line.

Brazil's Only Rare Earth Mine Comes to a Vote Today

Aug 28, 2026

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4 min read

Brazil's Only Rare Earth Mine Comes to a Vote Today

At $2.8 billion, Serra Verde is the largest single piece of America's critical minerals push — and the only ionic clay mine outside Asia producing all four magnet rare earths at commercial scale.

Tomorrow's Vote: U.S.A. Rare Earth Shareholders Weigh a $2.8 Billion Wager on Brazilian Mine-to-Magnet Supply

Aug 27, 2026

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6 min read

Tomorrow's Vote: U.S.A. Rare Earth Shareholders Weigh a $2.8 Billion Wager on Brazilian Mine-to-Magnet Supply

Serra Verde's Pela Ema mine is the only scaled producer outside Asia mining all four magnet rare earths. The combined entity targets 6,400 tonnes of oxide capacity by end-2027.

A 75-Year-Old Korean War Law Takes Effect Tomorrow

Aug 26, 2026

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5 min read

A 75-Year-Old Korean War Law Takes Effect Tomorrow

Starting August 27, every U.S. black mass seller must route 100% of monthly sales to domestic buyers. The refining plants aren't ready for what they're about to receive.

America Has the Ore. It Doesn't Have the Engineers

Aug 25, 2026

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5 min read

America Has the Ore. It Doesn't Have the Engineers

Jack Lifton compares 2026 to Detroit in 1940 — and explains precisely where that parallel breaks down

DOE's $162 Million Goes to Tailings, Slag Heaps, and Factory Waste — Not New Mines

Aug 24, 2026

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5 min read

DOE's $162 Million Goes to Tailings, Slag Heaps, and Factory Waste — Not New Mines

Nine projects — from an MIT spinout to Alcoa — are trying to prove that above-ground waste can replace below-ground exploration

Halleck Creek Holds 2.63 Billion Tonnes of Rare Earth Ore. The Oxide-to-Metal Step Stays in China

Aug 21, 2026

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5 min read

Halleck Creek Holds 2.63 Billion Tonnes of Rare Earth Ore. The Oxide-to-Metal Step Stays in China

American Rare Earths and Novex signed an MoU this week to bring that conversion step home — but no commercial facility yet exists, and a $456 million EXIM letter of interest is not a kilogram of metal.

The Export Control Pause Ends November 10. Erbium Is Already Moving

Aug 20, 2026

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5 min read

The Export Control Pause Ends November 10. Erbium Is Already Moving

Holmium is up 25% in China since June. Ytterbium has surged roughly 75%. Buyers are stockpiling months before the deadline arrives.

A 100% Tariff on Drones. The Magnets Inside Still Come from China.

Aug 19, 2026

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5 min read

A 100% Tariff on Drones. The Magnets Inside Still Come from China.

Section 232 raised a wall around the finished product. The hole runs through the parts — NdFeB magnets, 90% Chinese-made, aren't covered.

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China's New Plan: Own the Finish Line, Not Just the Mine

Greenland's First Rare Earth Mine: a $35 Million Deal and a 170-Year Echo

Lynas Earned A$222 Million. Its Dysprosium Plant Came in 63% Over Budget Because the Machines Only Exist in China

A Fishing Boat in 2010 Sent Terbium up 900%. Japan Just Cleared an American Supplier Instead.

Brazil's Only Rare Earth Mine Comes to a Vote Today

Tomorrow's Vote: U.S.A. Rare Earth Shareholders Weigh a $2.8 Billion Wager on Brazilian Mine-to-Magnet Supply

A 75-Year-Old Korean War Law Takes Effect Tomorrow

America Has the Ore. It Doesn't Have the Engineers

DOE's $162 Million Goes to Tailings, Slag Heaps, and Factory Waste — Not New Mines

Halleck Creek Holds 2.63 Billion Tonnes of Rare Earth Ore. The Oxide-to-Metal Step Stays in China

The Export Control Pause Ends November 10. Erbium Is Already Moving

A 100% Tariff on Drones. The Magnets Inside Still Come from China.

Your Daily Edge on the Rare Earths Market.