Rare Earths Could Become the Mining Sector's Next Billion-Dollar Opportunity

Market News Updates News Commentary

NEW YORK, Sept. 2, 2026 /CNW/ -- Rare earth mining is becoming much more than a traditional mining story. If looking at the sector today, the real opportunity is tied to the growing need for neodymium, praseodymium, dysprosium and terbium--the materials that make high-performance permanent magnets work. Demand for these magnet rare earths has already doubled since 2015, and the International Energy Agency expects demand to climb another one-third by 2030, driven by EVs, wind turbines, robotics, advanced electronics and defense technology. At the same time, the world is trying to reduce its dependence on China, which still dominates much of the global rare-earth supply chain. That creates a powerful opening for mining companies developing deposits in politically stable regions outside China.  Active Companies in the rare earth mineral markets today include:  Greenland Mines Ltd (NASDAQ: GRML), Critical Metals Corp. (NASDAQ: CRML), USA Rare Earth, Inc. (NASDAQ: USAR), MP Materials Corp. (NYSE: MP), NioCorp Developments Ltd. (NASDAQ: NB).

And this is where the upside gets interesting for investors. One current market forecast puts the global rare earth elements market at about $4.54 billion in 2026 and $9.89 billion by 2034, while a broader rare earth metals forecast sees the market reaching roughly $21 billion by 2035. Those numbers could prove conservative if governments continue pouring money into alternative supply chains and demand for high-performance magnets accelerates faster than new mines can be developed. The bigger story isn't simply that the rare earth market could grow--it's that quality deposits could become strategic assets as manufacturers and governments compete for reliable, non-Chinese supply.

Key market takeaways:

• $4.2B → $10.5B projected rare earth elements market through 2036.
• Up to $41B+ projected global rare earth market by 2034 under broader market definitions.
• NdPr demand accelerating as EVs, robotics, wind power and defense systems expand.
• Supply-chain diversification is becoming a national-security priority as Western governments seek alternatives to China.
• Potential for outsized mining valuations if companies advance high-grade deposits toward production and secure strategic offtake agreements.

Greenland Mines Ltd (NASDAQ: GRML) Completes Acquisition of World-Class Rare Earth Nd-Pr Magnet and Defense Mine Asset Following Greenland Government Approval

• At 2025 consumption levels, the NdPr oxide Sarfartoq is expected to produce annually from ST1 alone would represent approximately 34% of all NdPr oxide refined outside China
• Transaction closed September 1 following Government of Greenland approval

Greenland Mines Ltd ("Greenland Mines" or the "Company") a Western-aligned critical minerals developer consummated the closing of the Sarfartoq Nd-Pr Rare Earths Project in southwest Greenland, on Tuesday, September 1, 2026. The closing completes the transaction contemplated by the definitive acquisition agreement and brings the Sarfartoq project into Greenland Mines' mining portfolio.

"The Sarfartoq acquisition is closed, and one of the Western world's top-tier upstream rare earth magnet projects is now a Greenland Mines asset," said Dr. Bo Møller Stensgaard, President of Greenland Mines. "At 2025 consumption levels, the NdPr oxide we plan to produce from ST1 alone would represent roughly a third of all NdPr oxide refined outside China, in every one of the Project's nine scheduled operating years -- and ST1 forms only a small part of a much larger system. Our technical team is back on the ground at Sarfartoq this month, and we move immediately from acquisition to further resource growth development."

The closing follows Greenland Mines' release of an independent Initial Assessment for Sarfartoq, which demonstrated compelling project economics. Under the high case, the Project has an estimated pre-tax net present value ("NPV") of approximately $2.05 billion and a pre-tax internal rate of return ("IRR") of 118.6%, including Indicated and Inferred Mineral Resources. The Initial Assessment is based entirely on the ST1 deposit, which occupies well under 1% of the 191-square-kilometer Sarfartoq mineral exploration license, with five additional known rare earth occurrences along the approximately 32-kilometer outer ring structure remaining largely untested.

Sarfartoq at a Glance

• Global supply significance: At 2025 consumption levels, Sarfartoq's planned annual NdPr oxide production would represent approximately 34% of all NdPr oxide refined outside China, for each of the Project's nine scheduled operating years.
• Magnet rare earths: Neodymium and praseodymium account for approximately 84% of in-concentrate basket value, hosted in conventional rare earth minerals already being processed at commercial scale elsewhere in the world today.
• Resource base: Indicated Mineral Resources of 6.9 Mt @ 1.60% TREO and Inferred Mineral Resources of 5.3 Mt @ 0.96% TREO (effective July 31, 2026) -- the first Indicated resource in the Project's more than 15-year exploration history and its first combined open-pit and underground ("Hybrid") estimate.
• Mine plan and economics: Nine-year mine life processing 12.2 million tons at 1.4 million tons per annum at a delivered head grade of 1.32% TREO; high-case pre-tax NPV (8% real discount rate) of approximately US$2.05 billion at an IRR of 118.6% including Indicated and Inferred Mineral Resources, and US$1.49 billion at an IRR of 92.7% excluding Inferred Mineral Resources.

With the acquisition now closed, Greenland Mines intends to move directly into the next phase of Sarfartoq's development, including targeted infill drilling, pilot-scale metallurgical test work, mine engineering planning and continued environmental and social baseline studies, advancing the Project toward a Pre-Feasibility Study. The Company also plans to deploy high-resolution, low-level drone-based magnetic surveys to identify and prioritize additional targets across the license, with its technical team scheduled to be back on the ground at Sarfartoq in September 2026.

At closing, Greenland Mines acquired Neo North Star Resources in exchange for $20 million in cash and $15 million in securities value. Neo Performance Materials Inc. (TSX: NEO) became a strategic shareholder of Greenland Mines in connection with the transaction and retains offtake rights for up to 60% of future Sarfartoq ore or mineral concentrate production for processing at its Silmet rare earth separation facility in Estonia.

Technical Information: The scientific and technical information in this news release relating to Sarfartoq is derived from the Company's news releases of August 24 and 25, 2026, which identify the independent Qualified Persons under Regulation S-K Subpart 1300 responsible for the Mineral Resource Estimate (Ronald G. Simpson, P.Geo., GeoSim Services Inc., and Hassan Ghaffari, P.Eng., M.A.Sc., Tetra Tech Canada Inc.) and the Initial Assessment (Malcolm Castle, MAusIMM, Agricola Mining Consultants Pty Ltd). The Initial Assessment is preliminary in nature and includes Inferred Mineral Resources that are considered too speculative geologically to have modifying factors applied to them that would enable them to be categorized as Mineral Reserves; there is no certainty that the results of the Initial Assessment will be realized, and no Mineral Reserves have been estimated for the Sarfartoq Project. The full Technical Report Summaries (effective date July 31, 2026) are available at greenlandmines.com.  Continued…  Read this full release and additional news for Greenland Mines by visiting:  https://ir.greenlandmines.com/press-releases/ 

Additional industry news from around the markets include:

Critical Metals Corp. (NASDAQ: CRML), a leading critical minerals exploration and mining company, recently provided an update on its proposed acquisition of European Lithium Limited (EULIF) ("European Lithium").

Under the proposed transaction, Critical Metals Corp would acquire 100% of the issued share capital of European Lithium and all of European Lithium's listed options by way of Court-approved schemes of arrangement under Part 5.1 of the Australian Corporations Act 2001 (Cth), comprising a scheme between European Lithium and its shareholders (the "Share Scheme") and a scheme between European Lithium and the holders of its listed options (EUROC) (the "Option Scheme", and together with the Share Scheme, the "Schemes").

USA Rare Earth, Inc. (NASDAQ: USAR) recently announced the special purpose vehicle (the "SPV") that will purchase 100% of the Phase 1 production of rare earth materials ("the Offtake Agreement") produced by Serra Verde Group ("Serra Verde") has completed its capitalization arrangements.

USA Rare Earth announced a definitive agreement to acquire Serra Verde on April 20, 2026. On the same day, Serra Verde announced it entered into a 15-year offtake agreement to supply the SPV capitalized by various U.S. Government agencies, as well as private capital sources for 100% of its Phase I production with guaranteed price floors for its magnetic rare earths, including the industry's first and only price floors for heavy rare earths dysprosium and terbium. The capitalization satisfies one of the closing conditions for USAR's proposed merger with Serra Verde. Additional information regarding the Offtake Agreement, the Offtake Amendment and the capitalization of the SPV is contained in USAR's Current Report on Form 8-K filed with the SEC.

MP Materials Corp. (NYSE: MP) recently announced financial and operational results for the three months ended June 30, 2026.

"MP Materials built on its strong start to the year, ramping NdPr production and sales volumes while generating solid Adjusted EBITDA," said James Litinsky, Founder, Chairman and CEO of MP Materials. "We also signed a significant long-term agreement to supply gadolinium to a new U.S. aerospace and defense customer at attractive economics, expanding both our customer base and our heavy rare earth product portfolio."

Litinsky continued, "Across our business, we continued to execute on our long-term strategy. Magnet qualification at Independence advanced through additional deliveries for customer qualification and regulatory testing, while construction of our 10X facility accelerated. As we expand our commercial relationships, scale domestic manufacturing capacity, and deepen our vertical integration, we are strengthening MP's competitive position and building a differentiated industrial platform that we believe will drive long-term shareholder value."

NioCorp Developments Ltd. (NASDAQ:NB) recently reported the results of an updated Feasibility Study (the "2026 Feasibility Study") for its Elk Creek Critical Minerals Project (the "Elk Creek Project") outlining the project's evolution into a 40-year, integrated U.S. operation with a Net Present Value exceeding $4 billion that is expected to produce eight critical-mineral products from a single ore body.

The 2026 Feasibility Study estimates a pre-tax net present value at an 8% discount ("NPV8%") of $4.1 billion, an after-tax NPV8% of $3.4 billion, a pre-tax Internal Rate of Return ("IRR") of 24% and an after-tax IRR of 22.8%. Over the projected mine life, the Elk Creek Project is projected to generate approximately $37.4 billion in life-of-mine ("LoM") revenue, $608 million in average annual EBITDA2, and $519 million in average annual operating cash flow.

DISCLAIMER:  MarketNewsUpdates.com (MNU) is a third party publisher and news dissemination service provider, which disseminates electronic information through multiple online media channels.  MNU is NOT affiliated in any manner with any company mentioned herein.  MNU and its affiliated companies are a news dissemination solutions provider and are NOT a registered broker/dealer/analyst/adviser, holds no investment licenses and may NOT sell, offer to sell or offer to buy any security.  MNU'S market updates, news alerts and corporate profiles are NOT a solicitation or recommendation to buy, sell or hold securities.  The material in this release is intended to be strictly informational and is NEVER to be construed or interpreted as research material.  All readers are strongly urged to perform research and due diligence on their own and consult a licensed financial professional before considering any level of investing in stocks.  All material included herein is republished content and details which were previously disseminated by the companies mentioned in this release.  MNU is not liable for any investment decisions by its readers or subscribers.  Investors are cautioned that they may lose all or a portion of their investment when investing in stocks.  For current services performed MNU was compensated forty six hundred dollars for news coverage of the current press releases issued by Greenland Mines Ltd. by the company.  MNU HOLDS NO SHARES OF ANY COMPANY NAMED IN THIS RELEASE.

This release contains "forward-looking statements" within the meaning of Section 27A of the Securities Act of 1933, as amended, and Section 21E the Securities Exchange Act of 1934, as amended and such forward-looking statements are made pursuant to the safe harbor provisions of the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995. "Forward-looking statements" describe future expectations, plans, results, or strategies and are generally preceded by words such as "may", "future", "plan" or "planned", "will" or "should", "expected," "anticipates", "draft", "eventually" or "projected". You are cautioned that such statements are subject to a multitude of risks and uncertainties that could cause future circumstances, events, or results to differ materially from those projected in the forward-looking statements, including the risks that actual results may differ materially from those projected in the forward-looking statements as a result of various factors, and other risks identified in a company's annual report on Form 10-K or 10-KSB and other filings made by such company with the Securities and Exchange Commission. You should consider these factors in evaluating the forward-looking statements included herein, and not place undue reliance on such statements. The forward-looking statements in this release are made as of the date hereof and MNU undertakes no obligation to update such statements.

Contact Information:

Media Contact email: [email protected] - [phone]

SOURCE Market News Updates