Highlights

• Ucore is developing a U.S. rare earth refinery to challenge China's 95% processing dominance.
• The project is backed by $22.4 million in Pentagon funding.
• The Louisiana plant will process both light and heavy rare earths, with plans to expand from 2,500 to 12,000 tons annually by mid-2026.
• Strategic partnerships with Metallium Limited and Pentagon support position Ucore to transform e-waste and critical mineral processing.

---

Pat Ryan, CEO of Ucore Rare Metals (opens in a new tab), doesn’t bother with euphemisms when describing China’s dominance in rare earth refining. He likens it to Rockefeller’s stranglehold on oil in the 19th century—only this time the stakes involve magnets, defense systems, and the future of clean energy. “If China controlled 95% of oil refining, people would be outraged. But they do control 95% of rare earth processing, and that should shock us,” he declared in an InvestorNews interview.

Building an American Answer

Ucore’s refinery in Louisiana, scheduled to begin commissioning by mid-2026, aims to chip away at that imbalance. Structured in three phases, the plant will start at 2,500 tons annually and expand to as much as 12,000, covering both light and heavy rare earths—including strategic elements like samarium and gadolinium, which Beijing has recently restricted.

This isn’t a lone corporate gamble. Ucore has secured $22.4 million in Pentagon funding since 2022, delivered as a grant through the OTA program. Louisiana matched the commitment with $15 million in tax incentives, while Canadian programs added $4.3 million. Together, these initiatives created the scaffolding for Ucore’s refinery workforce and engineering baseline. “It’s boots-on-the-ground support,” Ryan emphasized.

Investors Take Notice

Additional Pentagon involvement ignited a swift response in capital markets in September. A private placement targeted at $10 million ballooned into $15.5 million in just 48 hours, capped only because Ucore chose to stop taking more. The pitch resonated: refining is now recognized as the supply chain’s bottleneck, not mining. Ucore has leaned into this perception, boasting an 80,000-square-foot facility with completed civil site work and 3D scans ready to replicate its Kingston setup in Louisiana.

Diversifying the Feedstock

Critical to Ucore’s future is feedstock diversification. The company’s new partnership with Metallium Limited (opens in a new tab), announced September 16, 2025, brings novel technology into play. Metallium’s Flash Joule Heating process transforms e-waste and magnet scrap into soluble chlorides, perfectly suited for Ucore’s RapidSX™ (opens in a new tab) separation platform. Ryan sees this as a leap toward broadening supply beyond conventional ores, with an eye firmly fixed on critical heavies like dysprosium and terbium.

Momentum Toward Expansion

The Pentagon’s engagement remains active, with Department of Defense representatives visiting Louisiana for quarterly reviews and fast-tracking Ucore’s equipment orders through DPAS contracts (opens in a new tab). At the same time, the White House is circling with broader critical mineral initiatives, and prospective customers are already lining up. Ryan hinted that the Louisiana plant might just be the beginning: “We’re realizing we’ll need to go beyond Plant #1 to Plant #2 very shortly.”

A Measured Take

Factually, Ucore has money in hand, real facilities under development, and serious federal and state backing. The bottleneck argument—processing over mining—holds water, and the Metallium deal strengthens its flexibility. Still, the rhetoric around “shocking” Chinese dominance is meant to stir urgency and win both political and investor support. Expansion to a second plant remains speculative until commissioning proves out, but the groundwork is undeniably stronger than most peers.

Source: “Pat Ryan of Ucore on Building America’s Rare Earth Refinery with Pentagon and State Backing,” InvestorNews, September 19, 2025.

©!-- /wp:paragraph -->