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Rare earth

SamariumMagnet performance under demanding conditions.

Samarium combines with cobalt in magnets used where heat resistance and reliability matter. Aerospace and defence applications connect its market to specialised manufacturing and to the availability of separated rare-earth material.

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Material
Sm
Key uses
Heat-resistant samarium-cobalt magnets
Supply to understand
Concentrated rare-earth processing
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Samarium in detail

Samarium is a strategic rare earth metal critical for manufacturing samarium-cobalt (SmCo) magnets – high-strength, heat-resistant components used extensively in defense, aerospace, electric vehicles, and wind turbines. These magnets outperform alternatives in high-temperature and high-reliability environments, making them indispensable for precision-guided weapons, aircraft systems, and advanced electric motors.

Demand is accelerating as global defense spending rises and clean energy technologies scale, while supply remains limited due to environmentally complex extraction and China’s dominance in rare earth processing. These constraints, combined with its vital industrial role, make Samarium a high-potential strategic asset for long-term investors.

Samarium price reference

$11.56/kg

Samarium metal · USD per kg

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Samarium

Why Invest in Samarium?

Samarium looks like the kind of rare earth that stays off the radar until a licensing announcement turns it into something buyers cannot ignore. That is exactly what happened in April 2025, and the market has not fully settled since.

China put export controls on seven heavy rare earths on April 4, 2025, samarium among them. The controls cover samarium metal, alloys, oxides, compounds, and samarium-cobalt magnet materials, which is not a narrow list. Every time I read that kind of scope, I translate it the same way: more paperwork, slower shipments, higher prices for buyers who cannot wait around for approvals.

The price data backs that up. Samarium oxide FOB Shanghai climbed roughly 9% in December 2025 alone, with Q4 2025 showing a clear bullish trend driven by quota enforcement, supply gaps out of Myanmar, and consistent buying from defense, clean energy, and electronics sectors. Projections for 2026 point to continued upward pressure, with samarium oxide prices forecast to rise around 18% from 2024 levels.

The demand side is not fantasy either. Samarium-cobalt magnets are the ones buyers reach for when heat is unavoidable and failure is expensive – aerospace guidance systems, precision instruments, defense hardware. That is a different customer profile than consumer electronics. These buyers do not shop around for substitutes on short notice.

There is also a detail worth noting: even after China suspended some of its October 2025 controls, the April restrictions on samarium remain fully in force. That is not a temporary headline. It is the current baseline.

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Samarium Price Trends

Samarium metal · USD per kg

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Material supply at a glanceChecked through 30 August 2026

Samarium supply outside China has started, but no annual total is public.

Malaysia made its first samarium oxide in March 2026. Its larger planned limit remains subject to approvals, raw material and a successful start-up, and is not current production.

China context

Samarium-only figure not published1
Data gap
A comparable percentage is not published.
Measured
Samarium-only output and share
When
Latest data checked August 2026

China's samarium-only output and share are not public. Its 270,000-tonne, 69.2% figure covers all rare-earth mine output.

Best documented alternative

First oxide made234
Operating start, annual tonnes not published
A comparable percentage is not published.
Measured
Separated samarium oxide
When
March 2026

Lynas reported its first samarium oxide in Malaysia. India and France also have separation capability.

Largest published next step

Up to 1,100 tonnes a year56
Capacity, not output
A comparable percentage is not published.
Measured
Separated samarium oxide
When
Malaysia expansion

Malaysia publishes the larger ceiling, subject to approvals, raw material and a successful start-up. White Mesa separately lists up to 140 tonnes a year by the end of 2028.

Who produces samarium?

Approximate share of global refined samarium oxide supply, based on mine output and separation capacity.
The values shown are rounded, illustrative shares consistent with rare earth mine production and refining data from Natural Resources Canada, USGS, SFA Oxford, and industry analysis.

Samarium Demand and Market Outlook

💡
Key Applications
Multi-Sector
Samarium's dominant application is in samarium-cobalt (SmCo) permanent magnets - high-performance magnets used in aerospace guidance systems, defense electronics, fighter jet motors, missile systems, and high-temperature industrial machinery where neodymium magnets would degrade. Secondary uses include neutron-absorbing control rods in nuclear reactors, samarium-153 radiopharmaceuticals for bone cancer pain treatment, infrared-absorbing specialty glass, solid oxide fuel cell electrolytes, and optical lasers - making samarium's demand base unusually diverse and defense-heavy.
🏗
Critical Mineral Status
#1 Highest Risk - USGS
Samarium holds a uniquely prominent position on the USGS 2025 Critical Minerals List - it ranked #1 out of 84 minerals analyzed for potential GDP impact under supply disruption, with an estimated probability-weighted economic loss of $4.5 billion. This places samarium above terbium, dysprosium, gallium, and all other 80+ minerals studied. It is also formally listed on the EU Critical Raw Materials list. The USGS specifically cites its use in permanent magnets, nuclear reactors, and cancer treatments as the basis for its critical designation.
📈
SmCo Magnets Market Size
+8% CAGR
The global samarium-cobalt magnets market was valued at approximately USD 18.1 billion in 2024 and is forecast to reach USD 38.9 billion by 2034 at a CAGR of roughly 8%, driven by rising defense budgets worldwide, expansion of electric and hybrid vehicles, and growing aerospace procurement. Defense represents the single largest application segment, with SmCo magnets used in radar systems, guided missile systems, and communication equipment where their extreme temperature stability and resistance to demagnetization are non-negotiable.
🔮
Broader Samarium Market
+6.3% CAGR
The broader samarium market - encompassing oxide, metal, alloys, and compounds across all end uses - was valued at approximately USD 412.6 million in 2025 and is forecast to reach USD 718.3 million by 2034 at a CAGR of 6.3%, according to Procurement Resource. The samarium oxide (Sm2O3) sub-market alone is estimated at around USD 300 million in 2025, growing at roughly 4.5% per year through 2030. Separately, the global samarium volume market reached 2,387.8 tons in 2024 and is projected to grow to 3,142.9 tons by 2033 at a 2.95% volume CAGR, per IMARC Group.
⚠
China Export Control Risk
Critical Chokepoint
On April 4, 2025, China's MOFCOM imposed export licensing requirements on samarium and six other rare earths (MOFCOM Announcement No. 18), followed by a second escalation in October 2025. China controls 90%+ of global samarium refining and 95-98% of SmCo magnet manufacturing. In practice, the licensing regime caused exports of rare earth magnets to South Korea and Japan to collapse by 93% and 91% respectively between March and May 2025. US defense contractors were left scrambling, ultimately relying on a decades-old samarium stockpile recovered from an abandoned Solvay factory in France - processed by UK-based Less Common Metals and turned into magnets by Arnold Magnetic Technologies - to keep F-35 and Tomahawk supply chains operational.
🌍
Western Supply Chain Response
Early Stage
The 2025 supply crisis triggered concrete Western responses. In November 2025, Permag (North America's sole SmCo magnet producer), Solvay, and Less Common Metals formed a strategic partnership creating one of the only operational SmCo supply chains outside China, spanning French oxide separation, British metallization, and North American magnet manufacturing. USA Rare Earth acquired Less Common Metals on November 18, 2025, further anchoring the chain. Australia's Lynas has been increasing samarium oxide quarterly output, and MP Materials launched pilot-scale samarium oxide refining at Mountain Pass. However, Western production costs remain 2-3x higher than Chinese alternatives, and full-scale independence remains years away.
View Sources (7)
  1. USGS - About the 2025 List of Critical Minerals (Samarium ranked #1 by GDP disruption risk at $4.5 billion)
  2. Federal Register - Final 2025 List of Critical Minerals (Samarium included)
  3. CSIS - Consequences of China's New Rare Earths Export Restrictions (April 2025)
  4. Eurasian Times - US relies on French factory stockpile (Solvay / Arnold / LCM supply chain)
  5. Zion Market Research - Samarium Cobalt Magnets Market $18.07B in 2024, forecast $38.86B by 2034
  6. Procurement Resource / OpenPR - Samarium market valued at $412.6M in 2025, forecast $718.3M by 2034
  7. East Asia Forum - China leverages paperwork to ration rare earths (SmCo magnet export collapse, 2025)

How to Invest in Samarium

There are no ETFs, futures contracts, or other investment vehicles that we are aware of for gaining exposure to samarium, other than owning it physically. We broker transactions between private investors seeking high-purity strategic metals such as samarium and our partner in Switzerland, a long-established industry supplier (more information available below).

We can help you invest with a minimum initial investment of $10,000. We are also happy to arrange a free, no-obligation call to explain how the process works and outline the fees, risks, and potential rewards involved.

*Not financial advice. Industrial metal buying is not a regulated investing space. 

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Looking to buy Samarium for industrial use?

This page is focused on Samarium as an investment asset (buy and hold). For industrial purchase of Samarium please click here.

Before you decide

A useful thesis has a question behind it.

What specification does a samarium-cobalt magnet maker require, and how does the offered material reach that stage?

Use the research above to test the case. Then check the exact material, purity, available quantity and resale terms against a dated quote.

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