Answers drawn from the methodology, the inaugural constituent note, the reconstitution log and the data page. Each answer cites where the fuller statement lives.
What is the RareEarth Index?
A rules-based, free-float market-capitalization-weighted index of the publicly listed companies whose primary business is rare earth element production: extraction, processing and separation, magnet and alloy manufacturing, recycling, or advanced-stage exploration with a defined resource. It is calculated daily in USD, base 100 at the April 30, 2026 close, and published by Clay Indices, administered by George Clay. Eligibility is set by six screens applied in order — activity, exclusion, listing, market-cap floor, liquidity floor, English reporting standard — with a 10% single-name cap, a quarterly rebalance and a semiannual reconstitution (methodology §2, §4, §5, §8).
Why does the index have 13 constituents when the methodology targets 25 to 35?
Because the eligible universe is that small, and the methodology does not relax its screens to reach a count. Fourteen companies passed all six screens at the April 30, 2026 calculation date; one has since been deleted. Three structural facts produce the small universe: a substantial share of global production sits with Chinese state-linked enterprises listed only on Shanghai or Shenzhen, which are out of scope; the activity screen excludes diversified miners and chemical companies whose rare earth operations are material but not primary; and the liquidity floor eliminates pure-play juniors that lack sustained tradability. The methodology says that when the universe falls below 25, the index publishes with the eligible companies and notes the shortfall (§5.3). The constituent note calls it a finding, not a failure (constituent note §4.1).
Why are there no Shanghai or Shenzhen listings?
The index is limited to eleven named exchanges that international investors can access: NYSE, NASDAQ, TSX, TSXV, ASX, LSE Main Market and AIM, Oslo Børs, Euronext, HKEX and SGX (§4.3). Chinese companies are eligible through an HKEX or other eligible listing — JL Mag Rare-Earth is a constituent through its HKEX line — but companies listed exclusively on Shanghai or Shenzhen are excluded on accessibility grounds (§11). The methodology acknowledges that the index therefore does not capture the full economic landscape of the industry (§13). China Northern Rare Earth, Shenghe Resources, Ningbo Yunsheng and Innuovo Magnetics are in the audit trail on this basis.
Why are Iluka Resources and Energy Fuels excluded?
Both fail the activity screen as of the calculation date. Iluka is a mineral sands producer; its Eneabba rare earth refinery was in construction, and the methodology does not anticipate future activity — a company building a refinery that will be its primary business is eligible at that future date, not today (§10.1; constituent note §5.2). Energy Fuels is a uranium-primary business with rare earth separation in non-commercial pilot volumes (audit trail). Energy Fuels’ acquisition of Australian Strategic Materials did not make it a constituent: an acquirer is not substituted for a deleted name unless it independently meets the eligibility framework (§8.4), and the reconstitution log records that it does not meet §4.1. Iluka is on the watch list for the December 18, 2026 reconstitution.
How is the level calculated?
Each level is computed from the weights and base prices of the rebalance period containing its date: the period’s base value, multiplied by the weighted sum of each constituent’s USD price divided by its USD base price. Constituent prices are dated by the exchange’s local trading day and converted at the spot rate for the London close of that day; where no rate is published for a day (Fridays), the first available rate after that day’s close is used (§5.4). A new period’s base value is the level on its anchor close under the prior period, so the series is continuous through rebalances and deletions, and a gap in the series would not propagate into later levels (§8.4, §12.1). The formula and the files behind it are on the data page.
When does the index rebalance and reconstitute?
Weights reset quarterly on the third Friday of March, June, September and December, or on the prior US trading day if that Friday is a US market holiday; the full eligibility framework is re-applied semiannually in June and December, on the same calendar slot (§8.1, §8.2). The Q2 2026 rebalance was executed on Thursday June 18 because June 19 was Juneteenth; the Q3 2026 rebalance was applied as of the September 18, 2026 close. The next events are the semiannual reconstitution on December 18, 2026 and the quarterly rebalance on March 19, 2027 (reconstitution log).
What happened in August 2026?
Australian Strategic Materials (ASM.AX) was acquired by Energy Fuels under schemes of arrangement approved by the Federal Court of Australia on August 19, 2026, and its shares were suspended from ASX quotation at that day’s close. It was deleted from the index effective the August 19 close at its last traded price, A$1.17; its weight of 3.22% was redistributed pro rata across the remaining thirteen constituents, the 10% cap was not re-applied, and no replacement was added. The deletion was applied on October 9, 2026, so the levels published from August 20 to October 8 had carried ASM at a frozen price; they were restated, by −0.03 index points on August 20 widening to −0.75 on October 8, and the restatement is disclosed in the log (§8.4; reconstitution log, August 19, 2026 entry).
What happened in October 2026?
Three things, all recorded in the October 10, 2026 log entry. The July 7 – August 18 segment, declared a break in coverage on October 9 after the price source dropped ASM’s history, was recomputed from ASM closes recovered from archived ASX data and published in full; the archive is at /data/archive/ASM.AX.csv. Two date-labelling defects were corrected — ASX bars had been dated by their UTC timestamp, and Friday FX conversions had used Thursday’s rate — and the series was restated: 38 of 87 levels changed, the largest by +0.68 points, and one spurious level dated Sunday October 4 was withdrawn. The methodology was designated v2.1, carrying §8.4 treatment of deletions, §12.1 series coverage, and the §5.4 dating sentence, with no change to eligibility, weighting, the cap or the schedule; from that date published levels are final except the latest (reconstitution log; methodology §15).
What is the current level?
As of the October 9, 2026 close the RareEarth Index level is 65.26, −34.74% from the base value of 100 at the April 30, 2026 close; 1-day change +0.28 (+0.44%). The latest level is provisional until the next daily run; earlier levels are final. The full series is in level-history.json and level-history.csv (data page).
Is there a fund or ETF that tracks the index?
No. The RareEarth Index is an informational benchmark and does not constitute investment advice. It is designed as a published reference for investors, researchers, policymakers and financial product issuers who require a defensible benchmark for the rare earth equity universe (§1, §13). The rare earth equity universe is small and may be illiquid; constituents may experience significant price volatility; the index tracks equity performance, not physical rare earth prices (§13). How the index differs from the VanEck REMX ETF is on the REMX comparison page.
How can I use the data?
Every published figure is available as plain files under /data/: the current level and changes (headline.json), the daily series since April 30, 2026 (level-history.json and level-history.csv), and the rebalance periods with every weight and base price (inception.json). The files are updated once a day after the US close and are published under a CC BY 4.0 licence: copy, redistribute and adapt them, with attribution to Clay Indices and a link to rareearthindex.com. A citation form is given on the data page.
How do I challenge an exclusion?
Use the contact page, naming the company and the specific reason cited in the audit trail. The audit trail records every company reviewed and excluded with the screen it failed; borderline cases are adjudicated under §10 and the disposition is recorded at the time of decision so that it is documented rather than reconstructed afterward (§10.4; constituent note §5). The methodology is rules-based, with no discretionary inclusions or exclusions outside the §10 dispute framework (about), and the universe is re-screened at each semiannual reconstitution (§8.2).