The demand on the part of manufacturers for neodymium magnets, ceramic capacitors, and other products remains stagnant due to the slow economic recovery in China.

 

Recently in China, the amount of scrap generated for magnet products has been decreasing. The number of recycling companies that use virgin ore for separation in order to maintain sales have increased. In response, the Chinese government encouraged domestic recyclers to stop production, and the price of ore stopped falling down. In mid-December, China Northern Rare Earth High-Tech, a price leader in rare earths, announced that it would raise the trading price of concentrates.

Seasonal factors included the fact that most companies in the supply chain for magnet products, including metal and magnetic material plants, cut production for the Chinese New Year and performed maintenance on various machines during the vacations, which led some suppliers to offer high prices.

 

These factors helped to drive up the prices of rare earths.

On the other hand, cerium and lanthanum products were weak due to surplus production, as demand for magnets is low.

In the international market, prices remained stable, although buying activity was slow due to low demand from trading companies outside China.

 

■ Price change of Neodymium Metal (99% FOB China $/Kg) 3months

source：MIRU.COM

 

From early November to December, prices were in the high 128$/kg range, but have been steady since then, rising to 142$/kg in mid-January.。

 

          ■Price change of Dysprosium metal (99.5% FOB China $/Kg) 3 months

source：MIRU.COM

 

In November, the price fell once from the 409$/kg level at the high of October, then steadied, rising to 440-470$/kg in December and 480$/kg in January.

 

  ■ Price change of Terbium Metal (99.9%min FOB China $/Kg) 3months

source：MIRU.COM

 

In October and November, the price remained in the 2,300$/kg range at a high level with repeated small movements, jumping to 2,400$/kg in early December. It subsequently remained steady, rising to 2,590$/kg in mid-January. 

 

■ PrNd Misch Metal Price Trend (Didymium PrNd 99%min Nd75% FOB China $/Kg) 3months

source：MIRU.COM

 

In October, the price was in the high 116$/kg range, but it temporarily dropped to 110$/kg in November. Since then, however, it has remained steady, rising to 131$/kg in mid-January.

 

■ Price Trend of Praseodymium Oxide (99.5% FOB China $/MT) 3 months

source：MIRU.COM

 

Prices drop in stages from a high of 103,000$/ton to 95,000$/ton in October and November, but began to turn up in early December, rising to 103,000$/ton in mid-January.

 

■ Cerium metal prices (99% FOB China $/Kg) 3 months

source：MIRU.COM

 

The price remained at a high level of $1.32/kg from October to December, but slightly declined from mid-December, falling to $1.29/kg in mid-January.

 

■Lanthanum Metal Price Trend (99% FOB China $/Kg) 3 months

source：MIRU.COM

 

It held at $1.27/kg from October to December, but slightly weakened after mid-December, falling to $1.24/kg in mid-January.

 

 <Topics>

November 30.

Australia's Arafura Rare Earths (formerly Arafura Resources) has signed a binding offtake agreement with South Korean auto giant Hyundai for the supply of NdPr at its 100%-owned Nolans NdPr project. (2) approval of the mining management plan for the project from the Northern Territory government, and (3) access rights from Stuart Highway to all areas of the Nolans NdPr project. The company will proceed with full-scale mining, construction, and operation, including the construction of a rare-earth processing plant, aiming to become Australia's first vertically integrated rare-earth business that will mine ore and process it into oxides in a single location.

 

 January 13.

Swedish state-owned mining company LKAB announced that it has identified over 1 million tons of rare earths in a nearby iron mine in the Kiruna region, 1,000 km north of Stockholm. This is the largest mine of its kind in Europe. The Per Geijer deposit, where the rare earths were identified, is mainly produced as apatite ore, a by-product of iron ore, which also contains up to seven times the grade of phosphorus in the ore body that LKAB is currently mining in the Kiruna area.

 

 

（IRUNIVERSE　marcin）

 

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