Best rare earths &
strategic metals ’26

Rhenium interests us because demanding engineering meets a supply chain that cannot expand on command. The case starts with turbine alloys and the recovery of a very small byproduct stream.

Rhenium helps certain nickel-based superalloys withstand the conditions inside high-performance turbines. The commercial question is whether engine production, maintenance and replacement demand keep pressure on qualified material supplies. Aerospace provides a specific customer base to investigate, rather than a general bet on every kind of manufacturing.

Much of the supply begins in copper–molybdenum processing. Recovering more depends on the host operations, the material they process and the recovery equipment in place. Our reading: a rising rhenium price can reward additional recovery, but it cannot instantly commission a separate supply chain.

Recycling matters. GE and the U.S. Navy have demonstrated recovery of rhenium-bearing engine parts. That supports a circular industrial market, while also reminding us that new mine output is only part of the supply picture.

Indium combines an established use in conductive display coatings with a developing role in optical devices. The interesting question is how much new technology demand reaches the underlying metal market.

Indium tin oxide supplies a transparent conductive layer in displays. Indium phosphide serves a different purpose: it is a semiconductor material used in optical devices. Both connect indium to electronics, but they involve different manufacturing chains and demand drivers.

There is a concrete development to follow. In March 2026, Lumentum announced a North Carolina facility for indium-phosphide optical devices, with its production ramp expected in mid-2028. It is evidence of investment behind optical links for AI infrastructure. It is not a measurement of additional tonnes of indium already consumed.

That distinction shapes our thesis. We want evidence of metal demand alongside the impressive device-market headlines. A shortage of qualified wafers or laser capacity may benefit a specialist manufacturer without creating the same shortage in ordinary indium ingots.

Our rare-earth position focuses on the materials behind powerful permanent magnets. Neodymium and praseodymium give the shortlist a connection to motors, generators and compact actuators.

Neodymium and praseodymium are used in the rare-earth part of neodymium–iron–boron magnets. These magnets are valuable where power, size and weight matter. Some EV motors and wind generators use them; the technology choice matters, so an increase in vehicle sales cannot be treated as a uniform increase in magnet demand.

The supply story extends beyond mining. Material must be separated, converted into metal and alloy, and manufactured into qualified magnets. The IEA’s 2026 outlook finds that diversification projects are more advanced in mining than in downstream manufacturing. A new mine announcement does not by itself supply a motor factory.

We treat neodymium and praseodymium as one investment position because the industrial logic is closely connected. The actual holding is specified as oxides. The two price references below are separate products; we do not manufacture a blended NdPr quote from them.

Ruthenium gives us a specific way to investigate the growth of data storage. Its appeal is strongest when the supply balance supports the story and changes in drive technology are taken seriously.

Johnson Matthey’s May 2026 forecast puts ruthenium primary supply at 977,000 troy ounces against demand of 1,193,000. Its demand measure accounts for closed-loop recycling and surplus metal returned by industry. The projected deficit is a useful signal, not a claim that every warehouse is empty.

The detail makes the case more interesting. Johnson Matthey expects electrical demand to improve, while chemical consumption weakens and total demand falls by about 6%. A market can remain short even when demand falls. The balance between available supply and consumption matters more than a single growth headline.

There is also a serious technological challenge. Heraeus reports that newer heat-assisted magnetic recording, or HAMR, drives use little or no ruthenium compared with conventional perpendicular recording drives. More stored data can coexist with less ruthenium per disk. We want to see which force wins.

Iridium ranks fifth because its case is more conditional. Its role in PEM electrolysis is technically demanding, but the investment case depends on projects becoming operating equipment and on how much catalyst they need.

Iridium-based catalysts serve the oxygen-producing side of proton exchange membrane electrolysers. This is a case tied to one hydrogen technology, not a claim on all hydrogen production. Other technologies have different material requirements.

Johnson Matthey’s May 2026 forecast puts primary supply at 229,000 troy ounces and demand at 240,000. Large European PEM projects contribute to its demand outlook. The difference is modest in absolute terms, and the timing of a handful of projects can matter in a market this small.

Engineers are also working to use less precious metal. The U.S. Department of Energy’s 2026 target is 0.1 grams of total platinum-group metal per kilowatt, compared with a 2022 status of 0.8. That is a technology target, not achieved fleet performance, and includes platinum as well as iridium. Capacity growth and catalyst intensity must be considered together.