New York, May 21, 2026, 07:16 EDT
Critical Metals Corp stayed at $10.75 in early U.S. premarket on Thursday. Nasdaq-listed shares had jumped 9.69% in the previous session as investors digested new supply headlines from Tanbreez and a late filing that clarified disclosures on the company’s rare earth play in Greenland. Nasdaq regular hours were yet to start at the time.
The Tanbreez move lands squarely in heavy rare earth elements, or HREEs, one of the market’s key hot spots right now. These less common rare earths show up in high-performance magnets, advanced electronics and defence gear. Western buyers are still facing risk from China’s export controls, with Reuters saying this week that Beijing’s rare earth export rules are still in force, even as U.S.-China talks continue.
REalloys Inc. is the buyer in a new definitive offtake deal that pushed shares. An offtake is when a buyer locks in a part of what a producer will make. According to Investing.com, which cited a press release, REalloys has signed a long-term agreement with Critical Metals for 15% of Phase 1 monthly output from Tanbreez. This replaces their earlier non-binding letter of intent.
Critical Metals lined up a rare earth offtake deal that was signed May 20, according to the report. The contract locks in an initial 15-year term from first commercial delivery and sets market-linked pricing for most terms, but it also builds in floor-price protection on certain payments. Phase 1 nameplate capacity was disclosed at up to 15,000 metric tons of rare earth concentrate, the report said.
Critical Metals, in a May 20 Form 20-F/A, changed and restated parts of its Tanbreez disclosures, added new details on internal controls for exploration and resource estimates, and filed a revised technical report summary. The company said the fresh report didn’t change the size of mineral resources it had already announced.
Critical Metals’ stake in Tanbreez increased to 92.5% on April 29 after Stage 2 closing, according to the filing. European Lithium holds 7.5%. The filing called Tanbreez an exploration and evaluation-stage project, so the immediate stock focus remains on permitting, financing, and execution, not current production.
Critical Metals is working to fold European Lithium into its operations. The company said May 18 it signed a binding Scheme Implementation Deed to buy all of European Lithium’s issued shares and listed options, using Australian schemes of arrangement. European Lithium holders will get 0.035 Critical Metals shares for every share they own. CEO Tony Sage called the deal a “logical transaction” with a “strong strategic rationale.” Critical Metals
European Lithium’s planned deal is worth about $835 million, Reuters said in April. The deal will give Critical Metals full ownership of Tanbreez, seen as a future heavy rare earths source while Western countries look to cut their China exposure. Closing is set for the second half of 2026, pending approvals.
The rare earths sector is seeing a lot of deals. Reuters said Thursday that Australia’s Ionic Rare Earths will partner with U.S. firm Nth Cycle to boost rare earths output beyond China. Last month, USA Rare Earth agreed to acquire Brazil’s Serra Verde for $2.8 billion, expanding efforts to develop mining, processing and magnet plants outside China.
Pricing remains a big issue. Bernd Schaefer, CEO and managing director at EIT RawMaterials, told Reuters that Europe should have its own system for pricing specialty metals and rare earths. He said Chinese prices can’t serve as a true benchmark: “What we are getting from China is neither representative nor, in strict microeconomic terms, a price.” Reuters
The trade isn’t a lock. The REalloys deal hinges on making commercial deliveries, product checks and locking in prices, and the European Lithium sale needs sign-off from shareholders, regulators and the courts. Tanbreez still isn’t in production. Any hold-up in getting permits, financing, building or metallurgy could make today’s supply-chain premium much tougher for the stock.
