Nic Fildes of Financial Times reports that following China’s tighter export controls on rare earths, Australian miners like Lynas, Northern Minerals, and Arafura Rare Earths saw gains, as investors see them as key future suppliers for Western defense and energy needs. Lynas, with access to high-grade materials and growing production, is well-positioned to benefit, though analysts stress the need for more government support to build a resilient supply chain outside China.
When China increased restrictions on exports of rare earths last Friday, escalating a trade war with the US, several small Australian miners bucked the global market sell-off to register big gains.
Shares in Lynas Rare Earths, Northern Minerals and Arafura Rare Earths rose on investor bets that they could be long-term suppliers of the materials western buyers need to deliver modern energy and defence systems. […]
That could be used as leverage in future trade negotiations, with the US having targeted rare earth deposits in Greenland and Ukraine in recent months. It could also be significant in providing a benchmark price and non-commercial demand for rare earths that would support the industry.
“It’s an opaque market that is dominated by a single supply chain. Some form of support would be helpful for us,” said Hartwig.
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