China has imposed targeted export controls on two heavily state-backed US rare earths companies and barred 46 American defense contractors from government procurement.

The Chinese Ministry of Commerce announced on Monday (June 22) that it has added 10 US industrial suppliers to its export control list to “safeguard national security and interests.”

The move is seen as a retaliation to Washington’s blacklisting of major Chinese technology firms.

China’s clampdown targets the anchor of America’s critical minerals supply chain, MP Materials (NYSE:MP), and emerging rare earths producer USA Rare Earth (NASDAQ:USAR).

Also designated were drone manufacturers Teal Drones and Jaia Robotics, the aerospace subsidiary of BAE Systems (LSE:BA,OTCPL:BAESY), electronics manufacturer Aveox and military equipment provider Oshkosh Defense.

Concurrently, the Chinese Ministry of Finance excluded 46 US companies from participating in domestic government procurement projects, though foreign-funded, locally registered entities associated with the firms are exempt.

The coordinated measures from China end a diplomatic lull that came after last October’s summit between US President Donald Trump and Chinese President Xi Jinping. China’s commerce ministry has explicitly framed the fresh sanctions as a response to the Pentagon’s recent update to its “1260H” list.

Earlier this month, the US Department of Defense added Chinese corporate giants Alibaba Group Holding (NYSE:BABA), Baidu (NASDAQ:BIDU) and automaker BYD (OTCPL:BYDDF) to a roster of entities it accuses of aiding Beijing’s military.

The US designation bars the Pentagon from awarding direct contracts to those companies starting on June 30, with indirect procurement restrictions following in 2027.

MP Materials, which operates the only major US rare earths mine, recently received a US$400 million equity investment from the Department of Defense. Meanwhile, USA Rare Earth secured US$1.6 billion in funding from the Department of Commerce and recently agreed to purchase Brazil’s Serra Verde Group to gain access to Latin American mines.

Both companies said they have already largely phased out Chinese equipment and materials. Shares of MP Materials gained as much as 3.7 percent in New York trading after the announcement, while USA Rare Earth rose 5.8 percent.

China currently accounts for 60 percent of global mined rare earths, 90 percent of refining capacity and 95 percent of permanent magnet production, according to the International Energy Agency.

The Chinese sanctions follow closely on the heels of a Group of Seven pledge to cap rare earths and permanent magnet imports from any single country to below 60 percent by 2030.

Beijing has similarly started to leverage its own industrial dominance.

Three weeks ago, researchers at the Chinese Academy of Sciences published a comprehensive framework identifying 63 specific technology sectors where China holds a global advantage, outlining them as candidates for future…

From powering the electric vehicle (EV) revolution and artificial intelligence (AI) infrastructure to anchoring modern defense systems, rare earths are the invisible engine of 2026’s global economy. But with supply chains caught in a geopolitical tug-of-war, the race for ex-China sourcing has never been more key.

Long relegated to the margins of investor awareness, the group of 17 critical minerals is now firmly at the center of industrial policy, geopolitical strategy and capital allocation.

Speaking at the Benchmark Summit, held this past March in Toronto, Adam Webb, head of energy raw materials at the firm, distilled the sector’s importance into stark terms, describing rare earths as “absolutely vital for modern technology,” particularly in permanent magnets, catalysts and electronics.

That importance is no longer theoretical. As rare earths continue to be a strategic piece of the evolving geopolitical puzzle the versatile metals are again garnering headlines.

For example, Brazil’s massive but largely untapped rare earth deposits have become a central topic in renewed US-Brazil talks, as both nations seek to build supply chains outside China.

Following a diplomatic thaw between US President Donald Trump and Brazilian President Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva, Washington quietly approached Brasília about a potential partnership on critical minerals in late January.

According to the US Geological Survey, Brazil holds the world’s second largest rare earth reserves, though it currently produces only a fraction of global output with limited processing capacity.

China, by contrast, controls roughly 60 percent of mining and over 90 percent of processing — a leverage point highlighted after Beijing imposed export restrictions in response to Trump’s tariffs.

The US has since accelerated efforts to secure alternatives, signing critical minerals deals with Australia and the Democratic Republic of Congo. In parallel with its outreach to Brazil, Washington has been persistently pursuing access to Greenland’s vast mineral wealth and Arctic military positioning.

The Trump administration has negotiated a framework deal with NATO Secretary-General Mark Rutte that would grant the US “sovereign base areas” on the Danish territory and fast-track rights to mine rare earth elements.

Greenland recently approved the transfer of a controlling stake in the Tanbreez rare earths deposit to New York-based Critical Metals (NASDAQ:CRML), a project US officials previously discussed taking a direct stake in.

AuKing Mining Limited (ASX: AKN) (“AuKing” or “the Company”) has agreed to acquire a 100% interest in the Tundulu Rare Earth Elements (REE) project in south-eastern Malawi (Proposed Acquisition).

Highlights

• AuKing to acquire 100% of the Tundulu Rare Earths Project in south-eastern Malawi – a 5km in diameter intrusive carbonatite complex¹, ranking among the largest and most under-explored rare earth systems in the country. The Project is de-risked by high-grade historical drilling (originally targeting phosphate), highlighting strong potential for a significant rare earth discovery applying modern and REE targeted exploration.
• Established carbonatite-hosted rare earths system with historical high-grade drilling results, including²:
• JICA drilling (1G87, max depth 50m):
  • 41m @ 3.7% TREO from 8m (JMT-22) (hole ending in mineralisation)
  • 35m @ 2.7% TREO from 15m incl 14m @ 4.1% TREO from 36m (JMT-17) (hole ending in mineralisation)
• Mota-Engil / Optichem drilling (2014-2015, average hole depth 127m, with several holes ending in high-grade REE mineralisation, while targeting phosphate):
  • 15m @ 3.46% TREO from 73m (TU071)
  • 31m @ 2.27% TREO from 41m (TU048)
  • 30m @ 4.03% TREO from surface (TU014)
  • 100m @12.6% P2O5 from 30m (TU042) and
  • G7m @ 14.4% P2O5 from surface (TU050)
• Total of 24 historical drill holes conducted across the project area ended in mineralisation including 8 drill holes that ended in greater than 2% TREO. By way of example drill hole TU073 recorded 10m @ 3.13% TREO from 113m to end of hole (EOH).
• Drilling at Nathace Hill has confirmed carbonatite geology, representing one of five topographic highs across the Tundulu Project, with strong potential for Makhanga Hill, Namuka Hill, Ichigwakalu Hill and Tundulu Hill to host carbonatite mineralisation.
• Historical rock chip samples from JICA program in 1988 returned assays (to be drill tested) including:
  • 6.07% TREO at Tundulu Hill eastern flank (sample 7Y1G6)
  • 6.41% TREO at Nathace Hill (sample 7Y386)
• Located within an emerging world class rare earths district in southern Malawi, in proximity to Lindian Resources’ Kangankunde Project (261Mt @ 2.61% TREO) and the Songwe Hill Project (21Mt @ 1.41% TREO).
• Mineralisation appears high in valuable heavy rare earth elements (HREEs) and medium rare earth elements (MREEs), with low levels of uranium and thorium.³

AuKing’s Managing Director Paul Williams said: “The proposed acquisition of the Tundulu Rare Earths Project represents a further exciting step in AuKing’s strategy to build exposure to critical minerals through high-quality exploration assets.”

“Tundulu is a district-scale carbonatite ring complex in southern Malawi with an interesting profile of bastnaesite and apatite containing abundant rare earth mineralisation and easily accessible by road. AuKing intends to commence exploration activities following completion of the acquisition, with an initial drilling program planned to advance understanding of the mineralisation. Subject to results, the…

Recycling materials has been a widely established process to promote sustainability and reduce carbon footprint. Now, thanks to both technology innovation and an increasing global sentiment toward resource resilience and security, this well-known process is carving a niche in the critical minerals space.

The global shift toward clean energy and advanced technologies is driving unprecedented demand for rare earth elements (REEs), yet the US remains almost entirely dependent on foreign sources, particularly China, for its supply. As the risks of this reliance grow more apparent, both industry and government are turning to recycling as a scalable, lower-impact solution to secure domestic access to these strategic materials.

Rare earths stocks have gained renewed investor attention following recent policies that sharpen the US government’s focus on securing critical minerals supply chains.

In early 2025, the Trump administration signaled stronger commitments to reduce American reliance on China for rare earth elements (REEs), especially those essential for defense, energy and advanced manufacturing.

This policy momentum is driving capital into companies positioned to support US supply chain independence with innovative and scalable rare earths solutions.

The US Department of Defense, Department of Energy and the White House have all expressed mounting concerns over the vulnerability of American industries due to China’s overwhelming control of REEs — over 90 percent of global rare earth magnet production. These magnets are essential for defense systems, robotics, electric vehicles (EVs) and artificial intelligence technologies.

Amid these concerns, the Trump administration has been advancing executive actions designed to fast track domestic production and processing capacity. During his first term in office, Trump signed Executive Order 13953, which addressed the threat of reliance on foreign adversaries for critical minerals and instituted support for domestic mining and processing industries.

As the trade war with China escalates, the US president doubled down on this agenda with a new executive order, issued in March 2025, invoking his wartime powers to strengthen the US critical minerals supply chain.

This series of policy moves has boosted investor enthusiasm for rare earth equities. MP Materials (NYSE:MP), the sole US-based rare earths miner, has seen its share price climb approximately 84 percent year-over-year (as of Q2 2025), buoyed by its strategic role in domestic production and recent policy endorsements.

Similarly, when USA Rare Earth (NASDAQ:USAR) went public in early 2025, it saw a 70 percent surge on its Nasdaq debut, reflecting strong investor confidence in its plans to establish a comprehensive US rare earths supply chain.

These gains underscore the market’s positive response to governmental efforts aimed at reducing reliance on foreign sources, particularly China, for critical minerals essential to defense and advanced technologies.

Australian miner Lynas Rare Earths (ASX:LYC,OTCQX:LYSDY) has secured a long-term extension of its rare earth supply agreement with Japanese partners while also receiving a renewed operating license for its Malaysian processing facility.

The company extends its long-standing commercial agreement with Japan Australia Rare Earths (JARE) through 2038 and establishes firm supply commitments for key rare earth materials used by the Japanese industry.

Under the revised deal, JARE will purchase 5,000 tonnes per year of neodymium-praseodymium (NdPr) from Lynas while also committing to buy 50 percent of all heavy rare earth oxides produced by the company.

NdPr is a critical component in high-strength permanent magnets used in electric vehicles, wind turbines and other advanced technologies.

The agreement also sets a market-linked floor price of US$110 per kilogram for NdPr supplied to Japanese customers. If the price rises above US$150 per kilogram, Lynas and JARE will share the upside, with JARE receiving 30 percent of the price increase above that level, capped at US$10 million per year.

In total, Lynas will make up to 7,200 tonnes of NdPr available annually to Japanese industry under the marketing agreement, subject to no opportunity loss for the company.

“Lynas’ partnership with JARE has served both organisations well over the past 15 years,” Lynas CEO and Managing Director Amanda Lacaze said. “We are delighted that the revised 12-year availability and supply agreement with JARE will support both Japanese industry and the continued growth and development of Lynas.”

The long-term contract follows the company’s successful production of separated heavy rare earth oxides in 2025, marking an expansion of its product portfolio beyond light rare earth elements.

In a separate announcement, Lynas said its operating license for the Lynas Malaysia processing facility has been renewed for 10 years by Malaysia’s Department of Atomic Energy.

The license renewal, which takes effect from March 3, 2026, provides regulatory certainty for the company’s refining operations, one of the few rare earth processing hubs outside China.

The agreement also underscores Lynas’ strategic importance in the global rare earth supply chain. The company is widely regarded as the only large-scale producer of separated rare earth materials outside China, which dominates the sector from mining through refining and magnet production.

Beijing has repeatedly demonstrated its willingness to leverage that position, most notably during the 2010 China-Japan rare earths dispute, when rare earths shipments to Japan were temporarily halted amid territorial tensions.

Since then, China has continued tightening its grip on the industry through export controls, production quotas and consolidation of domestic producers, reinforcing concerns among Western governments and manufacturers about supply security.

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A team of researchers at Penn State have developed a plant-based nanomaterial capable of selectively extracting dysprosium from rare earth mixtures, according to a recent report.

The findings published in the study detail how the team engineered a modified form of cellulose capable of isolating dysprosium, a heavy rare earth element used in semiconductors, electric motors, and generators.

Rare earths tend to occur together in nature and share nearly identical chemical properties, making separation complex and costly. Commercial processes typically rely on large-scale solvent extraction systems that require extensive chemical inputs and multiple repetitive stages to achieve high purity.

“As technology advances, manufacturers will need more and more dysprosium — some forecasts estimate the demand for this material may surge over 2,500 percent in the next 25 years,” said Amir Sheikhi, associate professor of chemical engineering at Penn State.

The research builds on earlier work by the team, which previously used cellulose-based compounds to recover neodymium from electronic waste.

In the latest study, the focus shifted to dysprosium and the challenge of separating heavier rare earth elements from lighter ones more efficiently.

To achieve this, the researchers modified cellulose at the molecular level, creating nanoscale crystalline particles roughly 100 nanometers long. When introduced into a water-based mixture containing both neodymium and dysprosium, the nanocellulose selectively captured dysprosium through adsorption.

The team observed that the modified cellulose chains behaved differently in the presence of dysprosium, effectively isolating it from the mixture.

“Separating rare earth elements from one another has been extremely difficult, due to the metals’ very similar chemical structures,” Sheikhi explained. “We have been looking for a reliable way to separate heavy elements like dysprosium from lighter elements like neodymium, while avoiding the negative environmental side effects that come from current separation approaches.”

The simplicity of the approach contrasts sharply with traditional rare earth separation facilities, which often require sprawling industrial plants and dozens of equilibrium stages to achieve magnet-grade purity.

Industry studies have shown that separating similar rare earth elements can require upward of 60 repetitive extraction stages, underscoring the technical barrier that has helped concentrate processing capacity in countries such as China.

China currently accounts for the majority of global rare earth processing, particularly for heavy rare earth elements like dysprosium that are critical for high-temperature magnets and defense applications.

The Penn State team argues that a cellulose-based system could reduce chemical usage and lower the environmental footprint of rare earth recovery if successfully scaled.

Future work will focus on refining the material and testing its ability to isolate additional…