Highlights
- France is investing $245 million in Caremag's rare earth separation plant.
- The project targets achieving 15% of the global supply by late 2026.
- Aim: Reduce European dependency on Chinese rare earth refinement.
- Strategy: Combining recycling with imported mineral concentrates.
- Challenge: Initiative represents only a small step towards breaking China's 90% market control of rare earth processing.
The muddy construction site in Lacq, southern France, hardly looks like the frontline of a geopolitical tug-of-war. Yet by late 2026, French company Caremag, a subsidiary of Carester (opens in a new tab), promises this patch of gravel will be producing 600 tons of heavy rare earths annually—enough, its executives claim, to supply 15% of the world’s demand for these irreplaceable inputs to EVs, wind turbines, and defense systems.
Rare Earth Exchanges (REEx) continues to track this endeavor. See REEx’s “Carester: France’s Emerging Rare Earth Refining Specialist.”
The French Gambit
Backed by a $245 million investment, Caremag’s facility will be Europe’s first large-scale separation plant. Its business model combines the recycling of end-of-life equipment with the processing of imported mineral concentrates, creating a strategic foothold in a market where China still refines over 90% of rare earths. Founder Frédéric Carencotte (opens in a new tab) frames the venture as not just industrial but existential—critical to Europe’s ecological transition and industrial sovereignty. Contracts with Japan and Stellantis already cover 70% of output, signaling that demand is real and buyers want supply security.
A Broader Ecosystem Emerges
Caremag is not alone. The UK’s Less Common Metals is investing $129 million in a French plant to produce rare earth metals and alloys, while Belgium’s Solvay has launched a production line for magnet precursors. Note REEx is aware that some of Solvay’s top talent moved to Carester.
Together, these projects could produce 1,000 tons of magnets by 2027. But here’s the cold math: Europe currently imports 16,000 tons annually from China. France’s push may be historic, but it remains a down payment on a mountain of dependency.
The Provocative Questions
The rhetoric is grand: 15% of global supply, “trillions in reserves,” European independence. But the numbers demand scrutiny. Can 600 tons really equal 15% of world demand? Global estimates vary, and without transparent baselines, percentage claims risk becoming marketing spin. And recycling, while essential, still needs steady feedstock flows at scale—a logistical and economic challenge that rarely makes headlines.
Another looming question: energy and cost competitiveness. France’s low-carbon nuclear power gives it an edge, but will European projects truly undercut China’s state-subsidized dominance? Or will they survive only with long-term state guarantees under the EU’s Critical Raw Materials Act?
France’s Advantage—and Its Limits
France does bring unique assets: stable governance, nuclear baseload, and EU regulatory alignment. These are not trivial. They make France one of the few credible Western hubs for downstream rare earth processing. Yet unless Europe backs upstream mining partnerships (Africa, Central Asia, Australia) and scales downstream magnet manufacturing, these plants risk becoming boutique suppliers in a market where China sets both volume and price.
The Bottom Line
France deserves credit—it is doing what Germany and the UK long talked about but never executed: putting real steel (and concrete) in the ground. But the race is just starting. Lacq may one day symbolize Europe’s emancipation from Chinese dominance—or it may be remembered as a brave but insufficient gesture in a battle where Beijing still holds the aces.
Source: Ross Cullen, CNA report (opens in a new tab) from Lacq, France, Sept. 23, 2025.
© 2025 Rare Earth Exchanges™ – Accelerating Transparency, Accuracy, and Insight Across the Rare Earth & Critical Minerals Supply Chain.
Great comment, especially because of the scrutiny of overstretched claims. At the Netherlnads Materials Observatory we are in intense contact with Dutch companies who suffer from current dusriptons. So, very interested in such insights