Pakistan Ships First Rare Earths to US Under $500M Deal

Islamabad — Pakistan has dispatched its first shipment of rare earth and critical mineral concentrates to the United States under a newly signed $500 million framework.
The agreement, signed in early September between US Strategic Metals (USSM) and Pakistan’s Frontier Works Organization (FWO), is designed to develop the full mineral value chain in Pakistan: exploration, beneficiation, concentrate production and eventual refinery capacity.
The initial consignment reportedly includes antimony, copper concentrate and rare earth elements enriched in neodymium and praseodymium — metals that are critical to defense, aerospace, electric motors and permanent-magnet supply chains.
USSM described the delivery as the opening phase of a multi-stage commercial and strategic partnership intended to scale extraction and processing capacity in Pakistan while supplying U.S. industry.
Analysts note that moving from concentrate exports to local beneficiation and refining is technologically and logistically intensive, requiring investment in ore processing, environmental controls and downstream metallurgy. If implemented, the framework could shorten supply chains for high-demand magnet rare earths and boost Pakistan’s role in the global critical-minerals market.