Dysprosium and heavy rare earths

Core thesis

Heavy rare earths (dysprosium, terbium) are far scarcer than light rare earths (neodymium, praseodymium). Dysprosium lets NdFeB magnets hold their strength at high temperatures – EV motors and wind generators run hot. Myanmar ion-adsorption clay supplies well over half of Chinese heavy rare earth feedstock and more than 60% of import value, and Kachin-state conflict regularly disrupts it. Until Lynas commissioned its Malaysia Dy/Tb circuit in 2025, no separated heavy rare earth source existed outside China; that circuit (around 1,500 t/yr) is still the only one, and it is small against global demand.

State of the art (2026)

Heavy rare earths are no longer a future supply story – they are an active chokepoint being weaponised. In April 2025 China placed dysprosium, terbium and five other heavy/medium REEs under export licensing; magnet exports collapsed by roughly three-quarters and European magnet prices spiked to multiples of Chinese levels. An October 2025 expansion was partially suspended late in the year, but Dy/Tb licensing remains. On the supply side, Lynas became the first commercial producer of separated heavy rare earths outside China, commissioning its Malaysia Dy/Tb circuit in 2025 (around 1,500 t/yr, with a larger facility planned). Its US Seadrift, Texas plant, by contrast, has stalled on wastewater permitting and offtake. Dysprosium oxide prices climbed sharply through early 2026, widening the China-FOB spread.