Rare Earth Magnets
Permanent magnets, most commonly neodymium-iron-boron alloys, used in EV motors, wind turbines and defense and electronics hardware; their supply chain runs disproportionately through Chinese refining and separation capacity, which is why governments increasingly treat them as a strategic asset.
Covered in 14 MetalsCost.com News Intelligence articles, most recently on October 24, 2026.
Coverage
Chinese Study Finds Turkey's Largest Rare Earth Deposit Is Small in Scale
A Chinese-led study of Turkey's Kizilcaoren deposit, the country's largest known rare earth reserve, concludes that its mineralisation is small in scale. The lead scientist says it is unlikely to become a major alternative to existing producers soon.
TSMC Asks Suppliers for Rare-Earth-Free Factory Motors to Cut China Risk, Sources Say
TSMC, the world's largest contract chipmaker, has asked suppliers whether its factory automation motors could be made without rare earths, Reuters reported, citing three sources. The aim is to reduce the risk from China's export controls.
GM Cancels Its Rare-Earth Magnet Supply Deal With a New US Plant, Filings Show
General Motors has cancelled a long-term deal to buy rare-earth magnets from a new US plant built largely to supply it, Reuters reported from company filings. The plant's owner is seeking damages in arbitration.
Chile Can Mine Rare Earths but Lacks the Plants to Separate Them, a Study Warns
Chile is building rare earth mines and a metal-making pilot plant but has no facility to separate the elements in between, a new study by GEM Mining Consulting says. Without that step, Chile could stay dependent on overseas processors, MINING.COM reported.
US Holds More Secret Talks With Myanmar's Rulers as Heavy Rare Earths Draw Interest
The United States held a second round of secret talks with Myanmar's military-backed rulers in Tokyo last week, Reuters reported. Washington has explored access to Myanmar's heavy rare earths, used in high-performance magnets, but no supply deal has been confirmed.
China Says Rare Earths Will Keep Flowing to Europe Whatever Happens With the US Truce
China will keep approving rare earth export licences for Europe even if its trade truce with the United States is not extended past January, a Commerce Ministry spokesperson told CNBC on Thursday.
China Agrees to Speed Rare Earth Export Licences for the EU in a Wider Trade Deal
China has agreed to make it easier for European companies to get licences to import its rare earths and permanent magnets. The pledge is part of a wider Beijing trade deal that would also more than halve China's hybrid car exports to Europe.
A Year After Their Rare Earth Pact, India and Japan Still Have More Frameworks Than Mines
A year after India and Japan signed a critical minerals MoC in Tokyo, only Toyota Tsusho's Andhra Pradesh refining venture is running; Rajasthan rare earth talks remain preliminary and partly denied by Japan's METI.
Forget Just Mining Rare Earths -- An Australian Think Tank Says Build Substitutes Instead
Writing in ASPI's The Strategist, Alain Richardt argues Australia should add substitution -- like iron nitride magnets replacing rare-earth ones -- as a formal third pillar of critical minerals strategy alongside extraction and processing.
Italy and the US Sign a Critical Minerals Pact, Moving From Diplomacy to Industrial Policy
Italy and the US signed a critical minerals memorandum in New York on September 21, 2026, the newest link in a year-long chain of steps -- a Washington ministerial, the Pax Silica pact, an EU-US deal -- aimed at rare earths outside China's pricing control.
Viridis Mining Pitches Brazil's Colossus Project as Europe's Alternative to Chinese Rare Earths
Australian miner Viridis Mining is positioning Brazil's Colossus rare-earth project as a non-Chinese EU supplier, after an EU commissioner's visit and a Solvay letter of intent, targeting first production in 2028.
US Puts Over $10 Billion Into Critical Minerals, But China Still Refines Most of the World's Supply
The US government has invested over $10 billion in critical minerals since 2025, taking direct equity stakes in rare-earth and zinc projects, but China still refines up to 90% of the world's supply.
BRICS Nations Pledge Diversified Critical Mineral Supply Chains as Modi Warns Against 'Weaponisation'
BRICS leaders adopted the New Delhi Declaration pledging diversified, resilient critical mineral supply chains and value addition for resource-rich nations, as Modi warned weaponising technology and minerals could hinder shared progress.
US Critical Minerals Strategy Risks Falling Short as Magnet Factories Lag Behind Rare-Earth Mining, Analyst Warns
Critical Minerals Institute co-chair Jack Lifton warns America's critical minerals strategy wrongly assumes financing guarantees production, citing IEA, GAO and Energy Department findings that refining, recovery and workforce capacity all lag funding.
