Australian billionaire Gina Rinehart's rare earths bet wins a bigger US supply deal

Arafura Rare Earths, the Australian miner whose largest shareholder is billionaire Gina Rinehart's Hancock Prospecting, has signed a binding agreement to sell rare earths to the United States in volumes 70% larger than first planned, a deal that strengthens one of Rinehart's biggest bets outside iron ore.

The company will supply up to 850 tonnes a year of neodymium-praseodymium oxide, known as NdPr, from its Nolans project in Australia's Northern Territory, according to Mining.com and other industry outlets. A term sheet signed in May had set the volume at 500 tonnes a year.

The buyer is Traxys North America, the US arm of commodities trader Traxys Group, Mining.com reported. Traxys is one of three trading and procurement companies picked to source and manage raw materials for Project Vault, the US government's strategic stockpile of critical minerals, and the Arafura supply is earmarked for that reserve.

The contract runs for five years, with an option to extend it by two years if both sides agree. Prices will be set in US dollars and tied to an independent seaborne price index, such as those published by Benchmark Mineral Intelligence or S&P Global Platts, according to a report on the agreement published by Yahoo Finance Australia.

Arafura did not name the counterparty in its own announcement on Monday and said it would no longer routinely disclose the identities of offtake customers unless required, Yahoo Finance Australia reported. The company said it remains in talks with other potential buyers.

Rinehart's stake in rare earths

Rinehart, 72, is the executive chairman of Hancock Prospecting, the Perth-based iron ore company founded by her father, Lang Hancock. She is Australia's richest person, with a net worth of $24.6 billion, according to Forbes Australia's 2026 rich list.

Hancock Prospecting owns 17.5% of Arafura. Rinehart added to the holding last year when the company raised A$475 million ($331.2 million) through a discounted share placement to fund Nolans. Arafura's shares fell sharply after that raise, according to market research firm Simply Wall St.

Hancock has built positions in several rare earths developers as governments in the US, Europe and Australia try to cut their dependence on China, which dominates the mining and processing of the metals. NdPr is the main ingredient in the permanent magnets used in electric vehicle motors, wind turbines, drones and missile guidance systems.

A mine near Alice Springs

Nolans lies about 135 kilometers (84 miles) north of Alice Springs. Arafura is developing it as Australia's first integrated ore-to-oxide rare earths operation, with a mine, processing and separation plants and supporting infrastructure on one site. Construction began this month, and the company expects first production in mid-2029. Arafura says the project could eventually meet about 5% of global demand for rare earths.

The Australian government is also a customer. Its A$1.2 billion ($836.8 million) Critical Minerals Strategic Reserve has committed to buying 500 tonnes of NdPr oxide a year from Nolans, according to Mining.com.

The expanded Traxys deal gives Arafura a second large government-linked buyer at a time when Washington is paying closer attention to where its supply of magnet metals comes from. China tightened export controls on rare earths and magnet technology last year, and Washington has since moved to secure supply from allied countries.

Arafura's earlier customers include South Korea's Hyundai Motor and Kia and wind turbine maker Siemens Gamesa, which signed offtake agreements with the company before construction started.