Monthly Review August 2025 – Critical metals between record highs and raw-material hunger

China is tightening controls on rare earths and technology metals. From October 2025, further processing and refining will also be subject to strict approval requirements. Although exports of dysprosium oxide and terbium oxide have resumed, this is only in small quantities and, to our knowledge, exclusively to South Korea and Japan. For German industry, especially in Bavaria, this is a warning signal:

• 26% of companies affected
• One in four companies had to halt production

Dependence on the Chinese market remains a challenge—flexibility is more in demand than ever. A recent report by the US Geological Survey underscores this: among ten metals with a particularly high supply risk due to potential supply-chain disruptions are several of our core metals—terbium, dysprosium, gallium, germanium and gadolinium.

Our new metal package featuring silver, palladium, rhenium, indium, neodymium oxide and praseodymium oxide was a complete success: more than half of the limited units sold out quickly. No coincidence—these metals are true stars:

• Neodymium & praseodymium: Essential for magnets in e-mobility and high-tech.
• Silver: The versatile industrial precious metal – and on the new USGS list of critical commodities for good reason.
• Palladium: A key metal for the automotive industry, electronics and the hydrogen economy.
• Rhenium: Indispensable for high-temperature alloys – also newly added to the USGS list of critical commodities.
• Indium: A high-tech metal for displays and future technologies.

Just in time for Gamescom, we created a “high-score ranking” of the price increases of our metals. After all, without commodities such as gallium and indium (graphics cards), neodymium oxide (headphones) or germanium (fiber optics), there would be no games, no streaming and no cloud. Policymakers support the gaming industry with €50 million per year – another sign of its growing importance.

One highlight of the month was our interview in the business magazine Cash. In focus: Seltene Erden AG (SE AG), the first physically backed security for rare earths and technology metals. With SE AG, we are opening access to these strategic raw materials for family offices and asset managers—a gateway to the future.

The USA is showing how it’s done: with US$95 million, it is supporting the revival of the “Tungsten West” tungsten mine in the United Kingdom. Tungsten is indispensable for high-tech applications and a strategic metal. Europe, by contrast, continues to debate. It is time for a commodities task force to finally drive forward its own projects. But it is not only strategic investments that shape US policy. Trump’s erratic monetary policy, his attacks on the Fed, and the introduction of massive tariffs are creating uncertainty in the markets. The question of how to hedge against this high-stakes policy is becoming ever more pressing. Commodities offer stability here – a safe haven in turbulent times.

A team at the University of Adelaide has developed an indium-based catalyst that removes PFAS (“forever chemicals”) from water and converts them into fluorite. The by-product can even be used for fertilizer and toothpaste—an example of how metals can advance not only high-tech, but also environmental protection.

Demand for gadolinium, whose price is breaking out upward especially in the USA, shows how urgently companies need to consider stockpiling—we are, of course, happy to help with implementation. Our ISO certification has already been applied for—an important step toward working with DAX-listed companies in the future. With SE AG and our growing industry contacts, we are ideally positioned to meet the challenges of the coming months.