Second Quarter Price Hike of 45%! Rare Earth Concentrate Prices Rise for Seven Consecutive Quarters, Rare Earth Sector Surges

China's rare earth concentrate prices achieved a seventh consecutive quarterly increase, with the percentage gain setting a record high since the current pricing mechanism was established, pushing rare earth sector stocks significantly higher. BSU and CNRE announced successively on April 10 that they set the second quarter of 2026 rare earth concentrate related-party transaction price at tax-exclusive 38,804 yuan/ton (dry weight, REO=50%), representing a sequential increase of approximately 45% over Q1, refreshing both the price and percentage gain records since the unified pricing mechanism was established in April 2023. Boosted by this, several stocks in the rare earth sector saw significant rises. Inner Mongolia BSU rose over 8.5% intraday at one point, CNRE's percentage gain peaked at 3.1%, while China Rare Earth Resources Technology rose about 2.5%. This price hike occurs against the backdrop of evolving global rare earth supply chain patterns. For the market, this quarterly pricing signal reflects both the reality of supply-side tightness and suggests earnings expectations for relevant listed companies may warrant further revision. Prices and Percentage Gains Both Set Records According to announcements from both companies, the Q2 rare earth concentrate transaction price was 38,804 yuan/ton, with a sequential percentage gain of 44.61%, both exceeding previous highs—the 31,030 yuan/ton in Q2 2023, along with the percentage gain at that time. This marks the seventh consecutive quarterly price increase since the parties' unified pricing mechanism began operations on April 1, 2023. Data compiled by media based on company announcements indicates this percentage gain is also the largest single-quarter jump since the rare earth pricing mechanism reform in 2023. Both companies calculate prices according to a fixed formula: for every 1% change in REO content, the tax-exclusive price for BSU changes by 766.08 yuan/ton correspondingly, while CNRE changes by 776.08 yuan/ton. Pricing Mechanism and Supply Structure The current pricing mechanism dates back to April 2023. CNRE signed a proposal with affiliated party BSU, agreeing that starting from April 1 of that year, in the first half of each quarter's beginning month, the concentrate price shall be calculated and adjusted based on the previous quarter's rare earth oxide market price using a fixed formula, followed by the signing of new supply contracts or supplementary agreements and subsequent announcement. Regarding supply structure, BSU disclosed that the rare earth reserves in its Bayan Obo mine amount to approximately 35 million tons in oxide equivalent, accounting for 81% of China's total rare earth reserves; CNRE is the sole purchaser of BSU's rare earth concentrate products, making the related-party transaction pricing between the two an important benchmark for the domestic rare earth concentrate market.