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Jan 15, 2025 | 
fastmarkets.com | Jon Stibbs |Solomon Cefai |Sahil Shaw |Caroline Messecar
Trade barriers and protectionist policies have dramatically reshaped critical mineral markets in 2024, with governments such as China and the US prompting participants to reorganize their supply of secure strategic materials amid mounting geopolitical tensions. The announcement of a 25% US tariff on Chinese imports of critical minerals in September marked a key shift in policy.
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Oct 18, 2024 | 
fastmarkets.com | Caroline Messecar
“The goal is to supply 20% of domestic demand for sintered NdFeB [neodymium iron boron] magnets in 2027,” Ian Higgins, Trafalgar’s founder and director, said. High-performance sintered NdFeB magnets are used in the motors of electric and hybrid vehicles, along with other applications. “There are many good reasons to set up a project in India — a large domestic market, highly skilled workforce and a fast-growing manufacturing sector,” he added.
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Oct 3, 2024 | 
fastmarkets.com | Caroline Messecar
The following prices were affected:MB-ZIR-0022 Zircon, premium grade, 66.5% ZrO2 min, cif Spain, $/tonne. MB-ZIR-0014 Zircon, premium grade, 66.5% ZrO2 min, bulk, cif China, $/tonne. MB-ZIR-0015 Zircon, standard grade, 65.5% ZrO2 min, cif China, $/tonne. These prices are a part of the Fastmarkets Industrial Minerals package.
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Dec 22, 2023 | 
fastmarkets.com | Zihao Li |Callum Perry |Caroline Messecar |Sybil Pan
Overall sentiment in the Chinese market remained bearish, sources added. In the East Asia market, lithium hydroxide prices continued to trend downward amid weak fundamentals. While lithium carbonate prices showed a little strength amid improved liquidity, market participants did not believe this could be interpreted as the start of a rebound amid overall scarce demand.
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Dec 21, 2023 | 
fastmarkets.com | Solomon Cefai |Caroline Messecar |Justin Yang |Annie Su
China’s Ministry of Commerce has prohibited the export of rare earth magnet production technology and machinery by adding it to its list of Export Prohibited and Restricted Technologies, according to a statement released on Thursday December 21. Thursday’s announcement formalizes existing export restrictions on all rare earth magnet production technology and machinery that have been in place for many years, Fastmarkets understands.
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Dec 18, 2023 | 
fastmarkets.com | Solomon Cefai |Caroline Messecar |Camila Jaramillo |Justin Yang
The Rare Earth Magnet Production Tax Credit Act would provide a $20-per-kilogram production tax credit for magnets that are manufactured in the US, and it would increase the credit to $30 per kg for magnets manufactured in the US whose components are produced, recycled or reclaimed domestically. Rare earth magnets are essential for the world’s net-zero transition through their use in the engines of electric vehicles and in offshore wind turbines. They also have important defense applications.
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Dec 15, 2023 | 
fastmarkets.com | Nina Y. Hu |Yolande Peters |Caroline Messecar |Justin Yang
The country’s Ministry of Trade, Industry & Energy said it wants to reduce its dependence on specific countries to less than 50% for 185 items by 2030, down from 70% in 2022. The list includes semiconductors, secondary batteries and 29 ferrous and non-ferrous metals, among other things.
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Dec 14, 2023 | 
fastmarkets.com | Caroline Messecar |Justin Yang |Sofia Okun |Zihao Li
The plant will produce high-performance NdFeB magnets for electric vehicles and defense applications. It will be constructed on an 85-acre site in the Pocotaligo Industrial Park in Sumter County and is expected to be operational in late fall of 2025. VAC has concluded an agreement with the US department of defense which will provide $94.1 million for the purchase and installation of manufacturing equipment, technical infrastructure and engineer production lines.
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Dec 14, 2023 | 
fastmarkets.com | Justin Yang |Alexander Cook |Solomon Cefai |Caroline Messecar
The US House of Representatives Select Committee on Strategic Competition between the US and Chinese Communist Party recommended congress to authorize the creation of a critical mineral “Resilient Resource Reserve,” it said in a report with around 150 policy recommendations published on Tuesday December 12.The adoption of such a reserve is intended to “insulate American producers from price volatility and (the People’s Republic of China’s) weaponization of its dominance in critical mineral...
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Jul 7, 2023 | 
fastmarkets.com | Solomon Cefai |Caroline Messecar
Two semiconductor metals with an industry-estimated combined global consumption of around 800 tonnes per year, and with critical uses in internet infrastructure, are casting a long shadow over the US-China trade and technology war while the industry wrestles with the potential implications of new export controls in China.
