The processing (like magnet-making) arena is becoming a ROW race/competition/battleground (please don’t go overboard on friendly borders ‘cooperation’) for those OEM endline needs. Saudi, despite having more money than… is just another competitor in this race with the increasiong fear being that successful arrival in this sector could lead to the dangers of oversupply and its impact on ROW pricing (never mind the Chinese always in the background).

This all remains a minefield for RE retail investors and now the introduction of AI into the RE sector media hype is further burying investors in a myriad of valuable, sometimes inaccurate and often irrelevant investor DD information.

GLTA – Rare Earths Investor.

The pictures appear to be all models on the Pensana website?

Where are the present mine construction photos and those of Brazilian equipment under prep’, etc., especially if we are talking production in 2027?

Not saying they don’t exist but stop playing around and show what you have to prospective investors. We remember the quick-to-post photos of the first shovel in the ground at the Humberside processor ‘dream’.

Then, the strategic funding by the US was to E-Vac, not Pensana, as far as we are publicly aware. E-Vac has a lot of choices for feedstock, including the likes of Aclara (which faces its own geopolitical headwinds). For Pensana a tie into the midstream is vital if it is not to become potentially another ‘Peak’ possibility.

GLTA Rare Earths Investor (REI)

Again, laissez-faire trading that certain nations were able to exploit and build their chains upon is, IOHO, fast disappearing. And again, it was never a question of who can be number one in a sector, rather where competition can be energized to create large-scale national wealth.

RE retail investors (with ongoing selective DD), again, IOHO, stand to see high rewards in certain RE wannabees these next 3 years, at least.

GLTA Rare Earths Investor (REI)

Myself and others are very interested in this opportunity. Is this ETF still happening? What’s the latest on listing timeline?

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**Australia’s ANSTO Advantage: The Overlooked Actinide Separation Leader**

Your article correctly identifies actinide/lanthanide separation as the critical bottleneck outside China’s 91% refining dominance. However, one strategic capability deserves greater prominence: Australia’s Nuclear Science and Technology Organisation (ANSTO).

ANSTO’s decades of nuclear expertise translate directly into actinide separation proficiency—the specialized chemistry that stymies most Western rare earth projects facing thorium/uranium-bearing ores like monazite. Australia’s heavy mineral sands contain approximately 364,000 tonnes of thorium, and deposits including Nolans Bore and Dubbo carry both rare earths and radioactive byproducts that require nuclear-grade handling capabilities.

ANSTO’s new pilot-scale rare earth processing facility at Lucas Heights (operational Q2 2026) provides common-user infrastructure specifically designed for clay-hosted deposits requiring actinide separation. This government-backed capability accelerates project development by six months and de-risks commercialization for Australia’s emerging rare earth sector—addressing the “permitting frameworks that can handle radioactive byproducts responsibly” you correctly identify as essential.

Combined with Lynas’s proven commercial-scale separation in Malaysia (the only Western operator processing heavy rare earths at industrial scale) and Australian Strategic Materials’ Korean facility now shipping commercial volumes of terbium, dysprosium, and NdPr metal to defense customers, Australia has assembled unique actinide separation expertise rivaling—and in some aspects exceeding—MP Materials’ U.S. capabilities.

The real moat isn’t just separation chemistry. It’s separation chemistry combined with nuclear regulatory frameworks and operational experience handling radioactive byproducts. ANSTO represents 70+ years of nuclear science infrastructure that cannot be quickly replicated in jurisdictions lacking similar institutional knowledge.

When you write “democratize capability,” Australia’s ANSTO-Lynas-ASM ecosystem demonstrates what that looks like in practice: government research infrastructure (ANSTO), large-scale commercial production (Lynas), and emerging specialty metals capability (ASM)—all leveraging actinide separation expertise as competitive advantage.

Western rare earth resilience requires more than mines. It requires nuclear-competent separation infrastructure. Australia has it. Most other jurisdictions are still building it.

TESIS Lesson #1 – Access ≠ Security.

A country may “access” minerals today but lose them tomorrow if it does not control value chains.
Germany’s exclusion shows how fragile “access-based” strategies are when another nation holds structural dominance.

TESIS Lesson #2 – Industrial power depends on mineral sovereignty.

Automotive, robotics, defense, wind power, and semiconductors — all depend on rare-earth magnets.
Without secured supply, Europe’s technological base becomes strategically import-dependent.

TESIS Lesson #3 – Strategic minerals must be treated as national security assets, not commodities.

China is doing exactly that.
The EU still treats many critical minerals as industrial inputs rather than as geopolitical instruments.

TESIS Lesson #4 – Without intelligence, early warning and strategic reserves, your vulnerability is invisible.

This is the “Mineral Iceberg”:
The real risks are hidden beneath the surface — supply concentration, geopolitical leverage, refining dominance, and technological chokepoints.

Germany’s exclusion demonstrates that the global scramble for material power has already entered a more assertive phase.
And Europe —still without mineral sovereignty, without strategic reserves, and without midstream control— remains structurally exposed.

Rare earths are not the message.
The message is dependence.

— Dr. Arnoldus M. van den Hurk
Critical Mineral Geopolitics | R4Mining | REMIO

During his trip to China, Wadephul told ZDF television that he had received signals in this regard, but that there was still a lot of work to be done. He emphasized that Germany and Europe needed access to Chinese raw materials, rare earths, and chips. To this end, he called for fair trade conditions during his trip to China. This was an absolute priority of his visit.
The CDU politician had already criticized China’s export restrictions on rare earths during a meeting with Trade Minister Wang Wentao in Beijing. Foreign companies currently have to apply for licenses for deliveries in China, which is costly and time-consuming. Wadephul also plans to meet with his counterpart Wang Yi in the capital.