Interesting comment found on TwitterNot specifically about NEO, but about potential/actual headwinds facing ex-China producers of REEs and magnets:
Sustainabledude
@Sustainabledud1
This is also why the practice of using US$80-120 NdPr oxide price forecasts by ex-China rare earth companies is silly China is focused on maintaining downstream permanent magnet market share Besides technological advantages, their main defense to keep competition out is price And frankly, you can do that when you control 90% of separated oxide production Look at notable rare earth producers such as China Northern Rare Earth Group and Shenghe Resources - their P&L is at a small loss However, utilization rates have not been going down Corporate strategy for capturing market share, or orders from above? My hunch is a bit of both, but arguably more of the second Now, it will be interesting to see how the 25% permanent magnet tariff for China magnets will influence the market from 2026 onwards, but for now rare earths can be parked next to green nickel and synthetic graphite As a HotCopper user mentioned: "Current prices are the norm over the last 20 years, and the high price spikes are the anomaly"