Key facts
- The U.S. is actively working to rebuild its domestic rare earth supply chain, focusing on heavy rare earths.
- REalloys is developing a comprehensive rare earth supply chain, from feedstock to magnet manufacturing.
- The company has secured government contracts and partnerships to establish heavy rare earth processing and metallization capabilities.
- The U.S. Department of Defense has identified domestic heavy rare earth production as an urgent national priority.
- REalloys aims to create North America's largest heavy rare earth metallization facility outside of China.
The United States is making significant efforts to re-establish a domestic rare earth supply chain, a critical component for electric vehicles, defense systems, and advanced technologies, by focusing on the processing and manufacturing of heavy rare earths. The Pentagon's investment in MP Materials' Mountain Pass mine, the sole large-scale rare earth operation in the U.S., marked a key step, but the nation's capabilities fall short in producing heavy rare earths like dysprosium and terbium, essential for high-temperature magnets.
This gap has created a new focus on companies that can supply these missing elements and capabilities. REalloys has emerged as a central player, assembling a series of agreements to cover nearly every stage of the industry. The company owns the Hoidas Lake heavy rare earth mine in Saskatchewan, Canada, and has supply arrangements for rare earth concentrate from projects in Canada and other countries, diversifying its feedstock sources.
REalloys has also secured agreements for separated heavy rare earth oxides, including dysprosium and terbium, from the Saskatchewan Research Council. Beyond oxides, the company is addressing the crucial 'midstream' processes of metallization, alloy production, and magnet manufacturing, which have been largely monopolized by China. REalloys has partnered with JS Link to develop an integrated non-Chinese rare earth magnet platform.
Government support is bolstering these efforts. The Defense Logistics Agency awarded REalloys a contract to design a modular processing facility for samarium and gadolinium metals, supporting the development of its metallization technology. The Department of Defense has also identified domestic heavy rare earth production as an urgent national priority ahead of a 2027 deadline for banning Chinese-origin rare earth magnets from defense procurement. Furthermore, the U.S. Army is in exclusive negotiations with REalloys to develop heavy rare earth processing facilities at the Tooele Army Depot in Utah, intended to be operational by 2028.
These developments aim to create North America's largest heavy rare earth metallization facility outside China, with a target of producing up to 10,000 tonnes of permanent magnets annually. The demand for a resilient North American rare earth supply chain extends beyond defense, encompassing industries like electric vehicles (Tesla), aerospace (GE Aerospace), and technology (Microsoft), all of which rely on these critical materials.