Critical materials intelligence & advisory

Trusted access to scarce
market intelligence and
execution pathways in
critical materials.

Acua Intelligence serves industrial buyers, family offices, and allocators who need to understand, access, and act in critical and strategic materials markets — with intelligence and execution capacity the mid-market has never been able to access.

+105%
Dysprosium Q1 2026
following Chinese export controls
12+
Chinese export controls on critical metals since 2023
65%
EU CRMA single-country cap
most European industrials non-compliant
3
Custody jurisdictions — CH · SG · DE
accessible through our facilitation mandates
The problem

The mid-market is structurally underserved in critical materials.

Large institutions — sovereign funds, Tier-1 banks, defence primes — have internal commodity intelligence desks, established custody infrastructure, and legal teams to navigate sanctions and jurisdiction risk. The mid-market does not.

"Lithium and rare earth will soon be more important than oil and gas."
Ursula von der Leyen, President of the European Commission
01
No visibility into non-public supply dynamics
Public data is lagged, aggregated, and frequently distorted. Supplier-level price and availability intelligence does not exist in any commercial feed.
02
Physical market access requires industrial infrastructure
Accessing physical critical metals with verified custody, traceability, and OTC liquidity requires relationships that take years to build and are not available through brokers or exchanges.
03
CRMA compliance pressure with no specialist advisory
The EU Critical Raw Materials Act's 65% single-country sourcing cap means most European industrials are non-compliant. The advisory capacity to navigate this does not exist at mid-market scale.
How we work

Intelligence, advisory, and facilitation — in a single relationship

We are not a data vendor or a commodity broker. We are the trusted interface between clients and a materials landscape that is increasingly opaque and structurally fragile. Three engagement types. One relationship. Clear scope at every level.

Intelligence
Intelligence Subscription
What's happening in supply — before Bloomberg knows.
  • Monthly intelligence brief: macro translated into material implications for your specific exposure
  • Proprietary supply and price signals from direct producer relationships
  • Geopolitical risk flags: export controls, CRMA compliance, jurisdiction shifts
  • One advisory call per month
Advisory
Strategic Advisory Mandate
Hands-on advisory for clients making active decisions in critical materials.
  • All intelligence included
  • Scenario modelling: what does a new export control do to your cost base or allocation?
  • Supplier and jurisdiction mapping with qualification
  • Counterparty, sanctions, and adverse media screening
  • Bi-weekly sessions, scoped per mandate
Facilitation
Facilitation Mandate
When the client wants to move — we execute.
  • Sourcing introductions and supplier qualification
  • Access to institutional custody and vaulting infrastructure — CH · SG · DE
  • Traceability framework and on-chain proof-of-reserve integration
  • Transaction coordination from first enquiry through settlement
  • Project-based, priced per mandate
Proprietary data
Direct producer feeds — non-public supply and pricing signals not available from any commercial vendor
Custody access
We facilitate access to Tier-1 vault infrastructure in Switzerland, Singapore, and Germany — including Europe's largest strategic metal inventory
Traceability
Chain-of-custody documentation and on-chain proof-of-reserve attestation — independently audited, quarterly, under Swiss Customs supervision
OTC liquidity
Strategic metals are not exchange-traded. We facilitate exit through the same industrial OTC network used by manufacturers — at industrial prices
Market context

Supply chains are being weaponised. The window for specialist advisory is now.

China controls more than 90% of rare earth processing capacity. Since 2023 it has deployed sequential export controls on gallium, germanium, and twelve rare earth elements — including all magnet products. European heavy REE prices reached six times Chinese domestic levels following the April 2025 controls.

New Western refineries are years away from production. NATO defence spending is heading toward 3% of GDP. The advisory and sourcing capacity to navigate this does not yet exist at scale.

+105%
Dysprosium Q1 2026
EU vs China REE premium
$12k
Copper / tonne 2026
Export controls — key events
Jul 2023
China restricts gallium and germanium
First weaponisation of semiconductor metals. Gallium +83% within 12 months.
+83% gallium
Apr 2025
Seven heavy REEs and all magnet products
EU and US carmakers halted production lines. Dysprosium +105%, terbium +103% by Q1 2026.
+105% dysprosium
Nov 2025
Expanded to 12 REEs and processing technology
Controls now include refining and separation equipment — not just materials. EU prices at 6× Chinese domestic.
6× EU premium
2026 — ongoing
Western de-risking underway — years from completion
$850M Louisiana REE refinery announced. New mines require 15–20 years from discovery to production. The gap is current and widening.
Core strategic metals — Q1 2026 OTC reference prices (TRADIUM / Strategic Metals Invest)
Dysprosium
$930.70/kg
+105.0% Q1 2026
Terbium
$4,028.50/kg
+103.1% Q1 2026
Germanium
$8,597.50/kg
+47.9% Q1 2026
Gallium
$2,269.40/kg
+31.7% Q1 2026
Hafnium
$12,508.20/kg
+31.7% Q1 2026
Past performance does not guarantee future results. OTC reference prices reflect industrial market conditions, not exchange-traded instruments.
Insights

Intelligence before
the market moves

All insights
Geopolitical Analysis · April 2026
Why China's November rare earth expansion is more significant than the headlines suggest
The extension of export controls to include refining and separation equipment is a qualitative escalation beyond previous material-level restrictions. We map second-order effects on European industrial procurement and identify which materials face the sharpest near-term price sensitivity.
8 min read · Strategic materials · Acua Research
Supply Chain · March 2026
Hafnium at $12,500/kg — two demand curves colliding
Aerospace and nuclear. Why the 117% appreciation in 2025 is structural, not cyclical — and what it signals for adjacent materials.
5 min read · Technology metals
Policy · March 2026
EU CRMA 2030 — which sectors face the largest compliance gap
Mapping current Chinese sourcing dependency against the 65% single-country cap across European manufacturing subsectors.
6 min read · Regulation
Market Intelligence · Feb 2026
Copper at $12,000 — AI data centres as the new structural floor
$371B in hyperscaler CAPEX has created a persistent demand floor now structurally decoupled from traditional construction cycle drivers.
4 min read · Industrial metals

Subscribe to the Acua Intelligence Brief

Monthly. Critical materials markets, geopolitical risk, supply chain dynamics. Only what moves prices.

The intelligence and access your organisation should have.

Whether you are sourcing critical metals, allocating to real assets, advising clients on alternatives, or navigating what China's export controls mean for your supply chain — the first conversation is a briefing, not a pitch.

Responses within 24 hours. Engagements by referral or direct inquiry only.

Headquarters
Geneva, Switzerland
Contact
team@arureserve.com
Engagements
Industrial buyers · Family offices · Wealth managers
Commodity funds · Private allocators