Methodology and Sources
This page explains where the figures on Rare Earth Investing come from, how often they are checked, and what happens when something is wrong.
Primary Sources
| Topic | Source | Used on | Refreshed |
|---|---|---|---|
| Rare earth prices and production | USGS Mineral Commodity Summaries (annual) | Price charts, element pages, homepage | Each February, when the new edition is published |
| ETF fees, assets and holdings | Fund issuer pages and fact sheets (VanEck, Sprott, Global X, WisdomTree, iShares, SPDR) | ETF comparison pages | Quarterly |
| Company projects and status | Company announcements, exchange filings and investor presentations | Stock watchlist, element pages | Quarterly, and after major announcements |
| Chinese export controls | Ministry of Commerce (MOFCOM) announcements, with reporting from established news and policy outlets | Export controls page, element pages | Whenever rules change or a deadline passes |
Verification Rules
- Named sources only. A figure appears only if it can be traced to a named source. Where sources disagree, we use the primary source or state the range.
- Dated figures. Prices, fund assets and company status lines carry the date they refer to, because rare earth markets change quickly.
- No forecasts presented as fact. We describe scenarios and risks but do not publish price targets.
- Annual averages are labelled. USGS prices are annual averages, not spot prices, and the latest year is often an estimate. Charts mark estimates.
How Pages Are Dated
Each page records the date its content was last reviewed in its page metadata (the dateModified field in its structured data), not the date the site was rebuilt. Data tables and charts state their own source and date, so readers can judge how current each figure is.
Corrections
When we find an error, we fix it, update the page's review date and, for material errors in figures or company facts, note the correction on the page. Recent examples include removing fund tickers that did not exist and replacing unsourced price history with USGS data.
Independence
The editorial team holds no positions in covered companies or funds, and the site has no affiliate or sponsored content. See about Rare Earth Investing for the full disclosure and the disclaimer for the limits of this research.