Refining & separation

現状 · 鉱物

The DRC government reinstated a ban on copper concentrate and cobalt concentrate exports on August 6, sending copper to an all-time price record and compounding a simultaneously reported sulfuric acid supply collapse affecting smelter operations. The DRC holds approximately 70% of global cobalt reserves; CMOC, the world's largest cobalt producer, operates primarily there. The ban follows the 2026 DRC cobalt quota imposed earlier this year and is a reinstatement of an earlier restriction rather than a novel policy. Chinese smelters dependent on DRC concentrate face immediate sourcing disruption; the move escalates a pattern of export nationalism following Indonesia on nickel and Zimbabwe on lithium, reshaping how processing capacity is allocated globally.

The International Energy Agency warned on July 16 that full implementation of China's rare earth export restrictions could disrupt US$6.5 trillion of downstream production outside China, the most comprehensive market-risk assessment yet of Beijing's export-control regime. China's commerce ministry launched a cash-reward programme July 1 for informants reporting illegal rare-earth exports, adding a civilian enforcement layer to an architecture already spanning the Mineral Resources Law (June 15) and a 46-firm defence-procurement ban. MP Materials and USA Rare Earth were blacklisted June 22; MOFCOM Announcement No. 26 took effect July 1. India and Japan signed the UNICORN defence-materials deal July 2, the clearest allied response so far. NdPr metal ran 160% in four months to US$137/kg before correcting; European ex-China rare earth prices are at six times domestic Chinese levels. MP Materials is producing NdFeB magnets at Fort Worth under a US$400m DoD equity stake. Battery metals: lithium nearly doubled in Q1 2026; China suspended graphite export licences until at least November 2026, covering 97% of spherical graphite. Gallium reached US$2,269/kg in the West versus US$246/kg in China. The US Trump administration announced US$3 billion in government investment across domestic and allied critical minerals projects on August 7, explicitly linking the spending to rebuilding weapons stockpiles depleted during the US-Israel war on Iran and reducing dependence on Chinese processing; CNBC framed it as a defense-necessity measure; The National placed it within a broader multipolar realignment as multiple governments diversify away from Chinese supply chains.

Watch: whether CMOC and Glencore comply with the DRC ban or seek exemptions; which specific projects receive the US$3B and in which allied countries; whether the US investment triggers matching G7 minerals commitments; cobalt and copper spot price moves after the DRC ban; whether Chinese smelters invest in DRC-based refining capacity; IEA US$6.5T figure and allied procurement timelines; CRMA permitting pace; US 45X FEOC implementation.

The midstream processing stage that converts ore concentrates into usable materials, with China controlling roughly 90% of global rare earth separation and battery-mineral refining.

詳細ファイル ›

Processing chokepoints: the refining and conversion technologies that concentrate supply-chain power in critical minerals

Seven technologies, from high-pressure acid leaching to battery recycling, determine whether refined critical minerals reach EV batteries and magnets from diversified or concentrated sources.

·4 論調 ·7月3日

Neodymium

The rare earth element powering NdFeB permanent magnets in EV motors, wind turbines and weapons; China controls 91% of global NdPr refining and 94% of magnet output.

·4 論調 ·7月3日

イルカのエニアバ精製所は建設50％に到達し、年1,200トンの自動車メーカー向け拘束的オフテイクを確保。エナジー・フューエルズは2026年第4四半期までにユタ州で重希土類分離を目指す

オーストラリア初の統合型希土類精製所は、NdPrと重希土類のオフテイクを確約したうえで2027年の稼働に向け予定どおり進行中。ユタ州のホワイトメサ工場は、テルビウムとジスプロシウムを商業規模で分離できる中国外唯一の施設

長期戦 ·6 論調 ·7月10日

ブリーフィングをメールで