The development of resilient, non-China critical minerals supply chains remains a key strategic objective for governments and industry supporting electrification, defence capability and advanced manufacturing. In the rare earths sector, progress has been constrained by the technical complexity and fragmentation of the value chain, which spans mining, beneficiation, separation, metallisation and alloy production. This paper argues that strategic partnerships across the supply chain are essential to overcoming these structural challenges, enabling integration, reducing risk and accelerating development timelines. The rare earths value chain is characterised by high capital intensity, specialised processing technologies and limited global processing capacity outside China. As a result, individual project developers often face constraints in scaling beyond their core competencies, whether in upstream resource development or downstream processing. In this context, partnerships—across industry participants, governments and end-users—are increasingly critical in aligning incentives and capabilities across the value chain. This paper examines three key partnership models emerging within the sector. First, industrial partnerships between upstream and downstream participants facilitate vertical integration, allowing alignment between oxide production and metallisation or alloying capacity. Second, government industry partnerships provide catalytic support through funding, policy frameworks and demand-side initiatives designed to de-risk early-stage projects and encourage domestic processing capability. Third, customer-aligned partnerships, including product qualification programs and offtake agreements, play a central role in underpinning project financing and ensuring alignment with end market requirements. To illustrate these dynamics, the paper draws on recent industry developments, including the proposed combination of Australian Strategic Materials Ltd and Energy Fuels Inc, which reflects a broader trend toward linking complementary capabilities across jurisdictions. While subject to approvals (including shareholder and court approval) and completion, this example highlights how upstream and midstream processing capacity can potentially be aligned with downstream metallisation and alloying to form a more integrated ‘mine-to-metals’ platform. Importantly, the case study is used to demonstrate structural themes rather than transaction-specific outcomes. The analysis considers how such partnership models can address key barriers facing the sector, including feedstock security, technical scale-up risk, financing constraints and limited price transparency. It also explores how coordinated development across jurisdictions may support the emergence of alternative supply chains capable of supplying critical inputs for permanent magnets and other advanced technologies. The paper concludes that a shift toward ecosystem-based collaboration—anchored by strategic partnerships across industry, government and customers—is fundamental to establishing competitive and sustainable critical minerals supply chains. Without such coordination, efforts to develop alternative supply chains are likely to remain fragmented and slower to achieve commercial scale.