Rare Earth Prices Hit Two-Year High After MP Materials Cuts China Supply

Prices of key rare earth elements used in high-performance magnets have climbed to their strongest levels in more than two years after U.S. miner MP Materials halted exports of raw materials to China. Benchmark neodymium-praseodymium (NdPr) oxide in China has reached about 632,000 yuan a metric ton, equivalent to $88 per kilogram, marking a roughly 40% rally since early July. MP Materials’ ore had accounted for an estimated 7%–9% of China’s NdPr oxide output, according to consultancy Adamas. The company stopped shipments in April and formalised the move in a July agreement with Washington that provides price support for domestically refined material. The supply shortfall coincides with China’s peak manufacturing season for electric vehicles, wind turbines and electronics, lifting demand for magnet feedstock. Tighter supply is filtering through to corporate results. State-owned Northern Rare Earth said first-half revenue rose 45% year on year, while net profit surged nineteen-fold. In a related sign of constrained availability of critical minerals, domestic Chinese tungsten prices have soared more than 60% since January.