Every company reviewed and excluded from the inaugural index is documented here with the specific reason. Companies whose absence might reasonably prompt a question are the priority. Forty-three names are covered. To challenge any exclusion, use the contact page at clayindices.com.
Excluded constituents
| Company | Ticker | Exclusion reason |
|---|---|---|
| Iluka Resources | ILU.AX | Activity fail — REE refinery under construction; commissioning revised to 2027. Revenue dominated by mineral sands as of April 30, 2026. Per §10.1: eligible at future commissioning date, not today. |
| Energy Fuels | UUUU | Activity fail — uranium primary business (FY25: $48.2M U revenue vs REE pilot in non-commercial volumes). Pending ASM acquisition may change classification post-close. Also: NYSE American not explicitly named in §4.3 (v2.1 flag). |
| NioCorp Developments | NB | Activity fail — Elk Creek is niobium-scandium-titanium; REE is minor co-product. Niobium dominates EV. |
| Vulcan Energy Resources | VUL.AX | Activity fail — geothermal lithium primary business. No REE activity. |
| Solvay SA | SOLB.BR | Activity fail — REE separation at La Rochelle is one product line within Special Chem. FY24 revenue €4.7B dominated by other chemicals. REE is minority of EV. |
| Syensqo SA/NV | SYENS.BR | Activity fail — specialty chemicals spinoff from Solvay. REE separation retained by Solvay. No material REE activity. |
| TMC the metals company | TMC | Activity fail — deep-sea polymetallic nodule mining (Ni, Cu, Co, Mn). Not a REE company. |
| Perpetua Resources | PPTA | Activity fail — gold-antimony developer (Stibnite Gold Project, Idaho). Not a REE company. |
| Avalon Advanced Materials | AVL.TO | Activity fail (lithium primary at Separation Rapids) and market cap floor fail (USD 41M < USD 50M floor). |
| China Rare Earth Holdings | 0769.HK | Exclusion screen — trading suspended since June 18, 2024 (>10 consecutive trading days). |
| Daido Steel | 5471.T | Exchange not on eligible list — Tokyo Stock Exchange. Activity would likely fail in any case. |
| TDK Corporation | 6762.T | Exchange not on eligible list — Tokyo Stock Exchange. Activity would fail (electronic components conglomerate). |
| Shin-Etsu Chemical | 4063.T | Exchange not on eligible list — Tokyo Stock Exchange. Activity would fail (semiconductors/silicones primary). |
| Sumitomo Metal Mining | 5713.T | Exchange not on eligible list — Tokyo Stock Exchange. Activity would fail (diversified metals). |
| Proterial Ltd | 5486.T (delisted) | Not publicly listed — taken private by Bain Capital consortium, October 2022. Renamed from Hitachi Metals January 2023. |
| China Northern Rare Earth | 600111.SH | Exchange not on eligible list — Shanghai Stock Exchange (A-share only). |
| Shenghe Resources | 600392.SH | Exchange not on eligible list — Shanghai Stock Exchange (A-share only). |
| Ningbo Yunsheng | 600366.SH | Exchange not on eligible list — Shanghai A-share only. NdFeB magnet manufacturer. |
| Innuovo Magnetics | 688199.SH | Exchange not on eligible list — STAR Market (Shanghai). Bonded NdFeB manufacturer. |
| Sungeel HiTech | 235980.KQ | Exchange not on eligible list — KOSDAQ (Korea). REE recycler. |
| Rare Element Resources | REEMF | Exchange not on eligible list — OTC Markets (US). Also fails liquidity floor (ADTV ~USD 281K). |
| Peak Rare Earths | PEK.AX (delisted) | Delisted October 2025 following acquisition by Ganzhou Chenguang (Shenghe subsidiary). Ngualla project (Tanzania) no longer publicly accessible. |
| 80 Mile Plc (formerly Bluejay Mining) | 80M.L | Activity fail — pivoted to industrial gas and hydrocarbons following July 2024 rebrand. REE no longer material. |
| Commerce Resources | CCE.V | Market cap floor fail — 30-day average ~USD 25M vs USD 50M floor. Activity passes (Ashram REE/fluorspar, Quebec). |
| Rare Earths Norway | (private) | Not publicly listed. Developing Fen Complex (Norway’s largest known REE deposit). No IPO announced. |
| Hastings Technology Metals | HAS.AX | Liquidity floor fail — 90-day ADTV ~USD 120K vs USD 500K floor. Market cap passes (~USD 73M). Activity passes (Yangibana NdPr). |
| Northern Minerals | NTU.AX | Liquidity floor fail — 90-day ADTV ~USD 408K vs USD 500K floor (18% below; outside 10% adjudication zone). Market cap passes (~USD 141M). |
| Ionic Rare Earths | IXR.AX | Market cap floor fail — 30-day average ~USD 47M vs USD 50M floor (within 6% — §10.3 zone noted). Activity passes (Makuutu ionic-clay + UK recycling JV). |
| VHM Limited | VHM.AX | Liquidity floor fail — 90-day ADTV ~USD 101K vs USD 500K floor. Market cap passes (~USD 55M). |
| American Rare Earths | ARR.AX | Liquidity floor fail — 90-day ADTV ~USD 239K vs USD 500K floor. Market cap passes (~USD 136M). Activity passes (La Paz, Arizona). |
| Dreadnought Resources | DRE.AX | Liquidity floor fail — 90-day ADTV ~USD 80K vs USD 500K floor. Activity borderline (multi-commodity). |
| Defense Metals | DEFN.V | TSXV liquidity floor fail — 90-day ADTV ~USD 74K vs USD 1M TSXV floor. Market cap passes (~USD 61M). Activity passes (Wicheeda, BC). |
| Mkango Resources (TSXV line) | MKA.V | TSXV liquidity floor fail — 90-day ADTV ~USD 53K vs USD 1M TSXV floor. Eligible via AIM listing (MKA.L) included in index. |
| Rainbow Rare Earths | RBW.L | Liquidity floor fail — 90-day ADTV ~USD 373K vs USD 500K floor (25% below; outside adjudication zone). Market cap passes (~USD 227M). |
| Leading Edge Materials | LEM.V | TSXV liquidity floor fail — 90-day ADTV ~USD 33K vs USD 1M TSXV floor. Market cap passes (~USD 51M). |
| Search Minerals | SMY.V | Market cap floor fail — 30-day average ~USD 11M vs USD 50M floor. |
| Geomega Resources | GMA.V | Market cap floor fail — 30-day average ~USD 32M vs USD 50M floor. |
| Heavy Rare Earths | HRE.AX | Market cap floor fail — 30-day average ~USD 5M vs USD 50M floor. |
| RareX Limited | REE.AX | Market cap floor fail — 30-day average ~USD 13M vs USD 50M floor. |
| GreenRoc Strategic Materials | GROC.L | Market cap floor fail — 30-day average ~USD 18M vs USD 50M floor. |
| ABx Group | ABX.AX | Activity fail (bauxite primary) and market cap floor fail (~USD 13M). |
| Vital Metals | VML.AX | Market cap fail (~USD 13M, 75% below floor) and liquidity fail (~USD 11K ADTV, 98% below floor). Post-2023 administration recovery in progress. |
| Aclara Resources | ARA.TO | Borderline — included in Tab 1 after adjudication (§5.1 of constituent note). Listed here for completeness; see constituent note for full reasoning. |
Comparison to REMX
The VanEck REMX ETF holds companies that this methodology excludes — including diversified miners and chemical companies where rare earth activity is a minority of enterprise value, and companies listed on exchanges outside the eligible list. REMX was reviewed as a reference universe only; its holdings were verified independently against this methodology rather than accepted on inclusion.