Australian heavy rare earths miners rally on China export controls

Australian-listed miners of heavy rare earths rallied on Monday, shrugging off major selloffs across other markets, on bets Western governments would renew their push to develop a separate supply chain after top producer China set down export controls.

Shares of Lynas Rare Earths LYC the world's top rare earths producer outside China, rallied 5% as did Meteoric Resources MEI, which has a project in Brazil, while shares in Australia-based heavy rare earths developer Northern Minerals NTU surged 9.5%.

China placed export restrictions on rare earth elements on Friday as part of its sweeping response to U.S. President Donald Trump's tariffs, squeezing supply to the West of minerals used to make weapons, electronics, and a range of consumer goods.

Rare earths are a group of 17 elements and heavy rare earths are those with higher atomic weights, including dysprosium and yttrium, which are generally less abundant and more valuable.

"The news from China highlights Lynas's strategic capabilities which are currently underpriced by the market," said Barrenjoey analyst Dan Morgan.

China produces around 90% of the world's rare earths, and the export curbs affect shipments to all countries, not just the U.S. They also include not only mined minerals but magnets and other finished products that will be difficult to replace, analysts said.

Lynas said it was closely watching global developments as it pushed forward with its production plans.

"We are very pleased that the commissioning of our new heavy rare earth separation circuit is planned for this quarter," a spokesperson said.

"Once in production, it will be the only source of separated heavy rare earths outside China and (will) enable Lynas to meet customer demand for both light and heavy rare earth materials."

Meteoric Resources said in an exchange filing on Monday that it planned to produce six of the elements subject to export controls at its Caldeira project, which it expects to come on line during the second half of 2027.

Separately, Australia's Prime Minister Anthony Albanese, who is facing a May 3 election, raised the prospect of setting up national stockpiles of critical minerals, which were likely to include rare earths.

Albanese said last week that "a Labor Government will establish a Critical Minerals Strategic Reserve – and I will have more to say on this."

Analysts said they were waiting for further details since it was typically consumers, rather than producers, that would tend to stockpile inventories in case of supply chain disruptions.