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3w ago

U.S., Vulcan and ReElement Announce $1.4 Billion Plan to Onshore Rare‑Earth Magnet Supply

The preliminary package targets 10,000‑tonne NdFeB output using Pentagon loans, Commerce incentives, private capital, plus government stakes.

FILE - The Department of Defense seal is seen on the podium in the Press Briefing room at the Pentagon on Oct. 29, 2024, in Washington. (AP Photo/Kevin Wolf, File)
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An employee walks through the processing facility at the Mountain Pass mine, operated by MP Materials, in Mountain Pass, California, U.S., on Friday, June 7, 2019. America's only rare earths producer, MP Materials, has been shipping all its output from the Mountain Pass mine in California to China because there is currently no refining capacity available to handle its production anywhere else in the world, its biggest shareholder said last month. Photographer: Joe Buglewicz/Bloomberg via Getty Images

Overview

  • Vulcan Elements and ReElement Technologies disclosed a non‑binding letter of intent with federal agencies to build a fully domestic neodymium‑iron‑boron magnet supply chain.
  • Financing includes a $620 million direct loan to Vulcan from the Pentagon’s Office of Strategic Capital, $50 million in Commerce incentives under the CHIPS Act, and $550 million in private capital.
  • ReElement is slated for an $80 million Pentagon loan matched by private funds to expand recycling and refining that will supply domestic, traceable rare‑earth oxides.
  • The Commerce Department will take $50 million in equity in Vulcan, while the Pentagon receives warrants in both companies, with terms still subject to final diligence.
  • The effort seeks to cut dependence on China for critical magnet materials used across defense and commercial technologies, even as Beijing recently eased some export curbs following U.S.–China talks.