US faces new pressure to build weapons without China’s rare earth magnets
Phoenix Tailings has 200 kilograms of annual capacity and a $500 million Pentagon loan as U.S. plants race to replace China-linked supply.
- Global rare-earth supply chains are expanding, challenging China's long-standing control over critical minerals essential for defense and technology industries worldwide.
- Beijing historically controlled roughly 80% of global mine supply and weaponized export controls during the April 2025 trade war, forcing the U.S. government to reconsider its strategy.
- Phoenix Tailings is expanding domestic processing with a $500 million Pentagon loan, aiming to build a new factory within 14 to 18 months to extract critical elements.
- President Donald Trump issued an executive order on July 20 mandating defense contractors source critical materials domestically or from allied nations, curtailing Pentagon waiver authority.
- Geological discoveries across continents—including Brazil and Vietnam—are fostering a diverse global industry that may render China's export restrictions ineffective as critical elements become more abundant.
51 Articles
51 Articles
This unassuming New Hampshire refinery could help the U.S. break free from China’s hold on minerals
A giant American flag hanging on the wall of a warehouse in New Hampshire hints at the national importance of the elements bound inside the mining waste stored in 1-ton bags. The company uses electrolysis to separate the key critical elements President Donald Trump’s administration desperately wants to produce domestically from the powder left behind at traditional mines.The small Phoenix Tailings refinery tucked inside an office park in Exeter,…
America's $500 million bet on rare earths depends on a tiny New Hampshire refinery scaling from 200 kg to 120 tonnes in 2 years
Depleted missile stockpiles and a July 20 sourcing ban are pushing firms like Phoenix Tailings and Arnold Magnetic to scale up production.
U.S. faces new pressure to build weapons without China’s rare earth magnets
Although the U.S. is quickening its pace to rebuild the domestic supply chain of critical minerals, free of control from its most formidable rival, most new U.S. mines are years away from reality, so extracting some of these hard-to-pronounce elements from existing mine waste can help satisfy the growing demand in the meantime.
U.S. faces new pressure to build weapons without China’s rare-earth magnets
A giant American flag hanging on the wall of a warehouse in New Hampshire hints at the national importance of the elements bound inside the mining waste stored in 1-ton bags. The company uses electrolysis to separate the key critical elements President Trump's administration desperately wants to produce domestically from the powder left behind at traditional mines.
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