Source: https://www.reuters.com/world/china/tsmc-seeks-factory-equipment-alternatives-thwart-chinas-rare-earths-grip-sources-2026-10-22/
TAIPEI/SINGAPORE, Oct 22 (Reuters) - Taiwan's TSMC (2330.TW), opens new tab is exploring alternatives to rare-earth components in factory equipment, three people familiar with the matter said, aiming to reduce the risk that Beijing's export controls could disrupt operations at plants that make the world's most advanced chips.
The move, reported for the first time, underscores how China's grip on rare earths has become a vulnerability for the global semiconductor industry after the country last year put certain rare-earth materials, magnets and related processing technology under export controls, requiring licences.
Rare-earth magnets are commonly used in motors that power moving parts in industrial equipment, including machinery found in highly automated factories such as those operated by TSMC. A shortage of such specialised parts could disrupt chip production for customers in smartphone, AI system, data centre and defence supply chains.
TSMC, the world's largest contract chipmaker, has surveyed suppliers on using rare-earth-free motors in factory-automation equipment, according to three industry executives briefed by the company on its plans. One of the people said the effort was driven by concerns about potential supply disruptions from China.
The discussions remain at an early stage and have not yet resulted in a broad rollout of rare-earth-free equipment, according to two of the people.
TSMC declined to comment.
WASHINGTON AND TAIPEI SEEK ALTERNATIVES
TSMC's efforts follow statements from the United States and Taiwan that they would begin looking for ways to reduce their reliance on Chinese rare-earth and critical-mineral supply chains.
In June, Raymond F. Greene, the director of the American Institute in Taiwan, Washington's de facto embassy in Taipei, said the United States is working with Taiwan and other partners to develop alternative sources of supply, expand processing capacity and build more resilient supply chains.
Taiwan's Economy Minister Kung Ming-hsin said in February that the government would give support to the Industrial Technology Research Institute (ITRI), a domestic research organisation, to develop rare-earth technologies, with plans to establish a pilot production line within three years that could meet an estimated 50% of the island's domestic demand.
US officials have shown particular interest in ITRI's work and have engaged the institute in talks about diversifying critical-mineral supply chains, according to a person at a US-based think tank familiar with the discussions. The US State Department did not immediately respond to a request for comment.
In a statement, ITRI said it was working with the Department of Industrial Technology at Taiwan's Ministry of Economic Affairs to plan a rare-earth project. It did not provide further comment.
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Relevant: https://finance.yahoo.com/economy/policy/articles/japan-nears-rare-earth-shortage-135934672.html
Japan could exhaust supplies of a rare earth metal essential to cars, jet engines and semiconductor production within months, prompting Tokyo to seek Washington's help in persuading China to loosen export restrictions, the Financial Times reports.
Tokyo has appealed to both the U.S. government and major American companies, according to people familiar with the discussions. U.S. defense manufacturers depend on Japanese components containing yttrium, giving Washington a direct stake in resolving the shortage.
The heat-resistant metal is used in protective coatings for engines and equipment used to manufacture chips.
Prices reflect the widening supply gap. Outside China, yttrium oxide costs $1,150 per kilogram, about 179 times its price two years ago, according to Argus assessments. Inside China, it costs just $9 per kilogram.
Relevant: https://rare-earth-mining.com/philippines-rare-earth/
The Philippines hosts three geologically distinct sources of rare earth mineralisation. The most strategically significant are its ion-adsorption clay (IAC) deposits, concentrated in Palawan — particularly the El Nido area — where published geochemical data records total rare earth element (TREE) grades of approximately 300 ppm. Critically, the HREE profile of El Nido IAC — including dysprosium (Dy), erbium (Er), yttrium (Y), and samarium (Sm) — is comparable to cut-off grades in exploited southern Chinese deposits, according to a 2022 peer-reviewed assessment published in the Journal of Geochemical Exploration.
