rare earth elements
A Rare Earth Rally, an MS Drug Trial Clearance, and Bitcoin Above $77,000
The market took two weeks to notice a rare earth resource update, then made up for lost time all at once. A multiple sclerosis drug cleared the FDA for human trials after spending the spring on clinical hold. Bitcoin climbed above $77,000 and pulled a handful of large, US-listed crypto names along with it, though…
Inside China’s Rare Earth Monopoly and Canada’s Junior Mining Response
China refines roughly 90 percent of the world’s rare earth elements and produces close to 95 percent of the permanent magnets that depend on them. That single fact drives every defense procurement conversation in Washington, every automaker’s supply chain audit, and a growing share of capital allocation across junior mining exchanges. The rare earth trade…
Critical Minerals Weekly: Gold Firms, Silver Rips, Teck Bets on Arizona
Gold closed Friday May 8 at $4,722.55 per ounce, up 2.3% for the week. Silver was the real mover — up 9.18% to $80.46. Copper hit $6.30 per pound on COMEX, a 4.49% weekly gain and its strongest close in months. Three metals, all up hard in the same week. The macro driver is the…
Trump in Beijing: China’s Rare Earth Squeeze Is Already Working
Trump landed in Beijing this morning. Thirty-six hours. Xi Jinping across the table. Rare earths on the agenda alongside AI chips, Taiwan, and a war that has closed the Strait of Hormuz. The rare earths are the reason he went. Germany has received zero dysprosium from China since April 2025. Japan received four percent of…
Critical Minerals Weekly: Washington Acts While China Tightens Supply Chains
Copper held above $5.94 per pound on Monday, up 27.8% from this time last year and up 6.4% in just the past month. Gold sat near $4,600 per ounce, down roughly 12% since the Middle East conflict began in late February but structurally supported by central bank buying. Cobalt traded flat at $56,290 per metric…
Locksley Starts Drilling California’s Most Strategically Located REE Prospect
Mountain Pass is not subtle geography for a rare earth explorer. MP Materials’ Mountain Pass mine in California is the only significant rare earth producer in the western hemisphere. The United States imports roughly 70% of its rare earth elements from China. The gap between those two facts is one of the most strategically uncomfortable…
Six Vulnerabilities That Could Determine the Outcome of the US-Iran Conflict
Executive Summary The United States launched Operation Epic Fury on February 28, 2026. In the first 36 hours, US and Israeli forces fired more than 3,000 precision-guided munitions and interceptors. Iran responded with approximately 400 ballistic missiles and over 800 drones in the first two days. The exchange immediately raised a question that has become…
Australia Steps Up Challenge to China’s Critical Minerals Hold
Australia is finally putting real money into critical minerals. The government plans to spend A$1.2 billion, about $800 million, to buy key minerals from local producers. They will hold them in a strategic reserve. The goal is simple. Secure supply for defense and high-tech industries. Support local miners. Reduce reliance on China. China still controls…
