BRISBANE, March 14, 2026, 09:04 AEST
Lynas Rare Earths slipped 2.2% to close at A$20.70 Friday, pulling back after gains earlier in the week. The miner announced a new, non-binding memorandum of understanding with Japan Australia Rare Earths (JARE), focused on exploration and mine development in Brisbane. MarketWatch
The new agreement lands just after Lynas took a significant step on March 10, finalizing long-term supply terms with JARE that stretch through 2038. That contract locks in an annual 5,000 tonnes of neodymium-praseodymium—NdPr, the rare earth vital for permanent magnets in electric vehicles, robotics, and military gear—at a minimum of US$110 per kg. It also opens the door for up to 75% of Lynas’s heavy rare earth oxides to head to Japan. Reuters
Sojitz says the group plans to set up a steering committee, looking into Mt Weld expansion and sizing up fresh rare-earth mine prospects both in Australia and abroad. Investors jumped on the news—Lynas shot up 16.2% Wednesday, then tacked on another 2.8% Thursday, before pulling back on Friday. Still, shares finished the week well above Tuesday’s A$17.72 close. Sojitz
Analysts are pointing to the new pricing setup as a potential dampener for the sector’s historic volatility. Reg Spencer at Canaccord Genuity called the revised offtake deal “insulation” against China’s grip on rare earth prices. Morningstar’s Jon Mills, meanwhile, noted that more Western buyers are opting to pay what he described as a “non-China” premium for reliable supply. Mining
Chief Executive Amanda Lacaze said the new MOU brings together Lynas’s “mineralogy and metallurgy expertise” alongside the technical and financial muscle of Japanese partners Japan Organization for Metals and Energy Security and Sojitz, aimed at building “sustainable and resilient critical minerals supply chains.” The structure, she noted, is similar to the approach backing U.S. producer MP Materials. Morningstar, for its part, pointed out that Australia’s Iluka may also ride the same Western push to develop mineral supply lines beyond China.
Japan-related deals come on the heels of Malaysia’s decision to extend Lynas’s operating licence for another decade as of March 2. The news hit not long after Lynas posted its strongest first-half profit in three years—even though net income still fell short of forecasts due to production hiccups and higher costs triggered by power outages at Kalgoorlie. Reuters
The new MOU, though, is just a framework—for now, the price floor applies to only part of Lynas’s total output. Lynas maintains its supply capacity target at up to 7,200 tonnes a year through 2038, compared with the 5,000-tonne NdPr volume under the agreement. Morningstar thinks the stock is still running at about twice what it’s really worth, cautioning that China still has the ability to drive prices lower.
Sojitz plans to add four more elements—samarium among them—to its Japanese imports from Lynas starting in the first quarter of fiscal 2026. The move marks a shift: Japan’s tie-up with Lynas is no longer just about offtake. It’s expanding into new mining sources, a wider range of products, and a longer-term approach to securing supply. Sojitz
