Highlights
- Energy Fuels and Posco signed an MOU to qualify U.S.-produced neodymium-praseodymium (NdPr) oxide for EV magnet applications internationally.
- White Mesa Mill plans to scale NdPr oxide production from 1,000 to 6,000 tons per year, potentially powering over 30,000 EVs by year-end.
- The partnership aims to establish a China-independent rare earth supply chain across the U.S., Europe, Japan, and South Korea.
Energy Fuels Inc (opens in a new tab). (NYSE American: UUUU), a uranium and rare earth processor based in Colorado, has taken a bold step toward establishing a China-independent supply chain for rare earth permanent magnets. As Rare Earth Exchanges (REEx) reported in March, the firm is partnering with Posco International (opens in a new tab)—a global leader in EV traction motor cores—the two companies signed a memorandum of understanding (MOU) to qualify and scale U.S.-produced neodymium-praseodymium (NdPr) oxide for EV magnet applications across the U.S., Europe, Japan, and South Korea.
Cited recently in Magnetics Business & Technology (opens in a new tab), the NdPr will be refined at Energy Fuels’ White Mesa Mill in Utah, which currently produces 1,000 tons per year, with plans to scale up six-fold to 6,000 tons. Under the MOU, Energy Fuels will deliver large-scale NdPr oxide samples for Posco to process into alloys and magnets for EV traction systems. If successful, commercial volumes could be powering over 30,000 EVs by year-end, with long-term supply deals on the table.
This alliance underscores Energy Fuels’ growing feedstock network, which includes a strategic agreement with Chemours to supply monazite from Florida and Georgia, as well as new projects in Madagascar, Brazil, and Austria. Notably, Energy Fuels states that it can now produce six of the seven rare earth oxides subject to new Chinese export controls.
REEx Takeaway:
This deal signals a rare earth realignment in motion—but questions remain, and we are still in the early innings of a long game.
Can Energy Fuels and Posco finalize a definitive agreement fast enough to impact 2025 production cycles? Will the U.S. government commit funding to scale the White Mesa Mill’s expansion beyond Phase 1? And how will Energy Fuels balance magnet material supply with its uranium portfolio and HMS mining ambitions abroad?
As this partnership progresses, REEx™ will track developments closely for the Project Rankings Databases.
For investor discussions, check out the REEx Forum (opens in a new tab).
Interesting how these RE value chains may eventally emerge. EF now MOU’d with POSCO for offtake who inturn are closely aligned with the Hyundai group, with both Hyundai and Kia themselves having binding offtakes with Arafura. Then, who supplies oxide offtakes to the undisclosed metal makers (ASM? LCM..?) in the US for the likes of none US militay aligned (i.e., EVAC) magnet maker Star Group, arriving in the US? A complex situaton for RE retail investors to assess. GLTA – REI