BRISBANE, March 14, 2026, 09:04 AEST
Lynas Rare Earths shares ended Friday down 2.2% at A$20.70, trimming part of a two-day rally, while the miner said it had signed a fresh memorandum with Japan Australia Rare Earths, or JARE, to cooperate on exploration and mine development. The Brisbane MOU is non-binding. 1
The timing matters because the new pact expands a relationship Lynas had just deepened on March 10, when it locked in supply terms with JARE through 2038. That deal guarantees 5,000 tonnes a year of neodymium-praseodymium, or NdPr, the rare-earth material used in permanent magnets for electric vehicles, robotics and military equipment, at a US$110 per kg floor price, and sets up supply of up to 75% of Lynas’s heavy rare earth oxides to the Japanese market. 2
Sojitz said the partners will form a steering committee to study expansion at Mt Weld and assess new rare-earth mines in and outside Australia. Investors have been quick to reprice the story: Lynas surged 16.2% on Wednesday and 2.8% on Thursday before easing Friday, leaving the shares well above Tuesday’s A$17.72 close. 3
Analysts said the new pricing structure could mute the sector’s old boom-and-bust swings. Canaccord Genuity’s Reg Spencer said the revised offtake provided “insulation” from China’s influence on rare-earth pricing, while Morningstar’s Jon Mills said Western customers were increasingly willing to pay a “non-China” premium to secure supply. 4
Chief Executive Amanda Lacaze said the latest MOU would combine Lynas’s “mineralogy and metallurgy expertise” with the technical and financial backing of Japanese partners Japan Organization for Metals and Energy Security and Sojitz, and help build “sustainable and resilient critical minerals supply chains.” The set-up also echoes the model used to support U.S. producer MP Materials, while Morningstar said Australia’s Iluka could benefit from the same Western push to build supply chains outside China.
The Japan-linked agreements land after Malaysia renewed Lynas’s operating licence for 10 years on March 2. They also follow the company’s best first-half profit in three years, although net income missed estimates after power failures at Kalgoorlie dented output and lifted costs. 5
But the fresh MOU is only a framework, and the price floor does not cover all of Lynas’s output. Lynas has said its total supply capacity will remain up to 7,200 tonnes a year through 2038, versus the 5,000-tonne NdPr commitment, and Morningstar argues the stock still trades about double its fair value while warning China can still suppress prices.
Sojitz said four new elements, including samarium, will be added to its Japanese import line-up from Lynas from the first quarter of fiscal 2026. That suggests the Japan relationship is moving beyond straight offtake into new mine supply, broader product coverage and longer-term supply security. 3
