Rare Earth ExchangesT Report: House Hearing Puts Small Business at Center of Critical Minerals Strategy

Highlights

• Four industry experts presented unique approaches to breaking U.S. dependence on Chinese rare earth element supply chains.
• Innovative technologies include:
  • Extracting REEs from recycled materials
  • Coal ash
  • High-grade domestic mineral deposits
• Key challenges include:
  • Complex permitting processes
  • Market volatility
  • The need for strategic government investment and policy support

At a pivotal Congressional hearing (opens in a new tab), lawmakers and industry leaders clashed and collaborated on one of the most strategic industrial questions of our time: How do we end U.S. dependence on China for rare earth elements (REEs) and critical minerals—without crushing small businesses under the weight of permitting delays, opaque markets, and policy volatility?

The bipartisan hearing featured four standout witnesses—Aaron Dowd (opens in a new tab) (Rare Earth Salts), Harvey Kaye (opens in a new tab) (U.S. Critical Materials), Ken Mashinsky (Rare Element Resources), and Dr. Laura Stoy (opens in a new tab) (Revalia Chemical)—each offering a unique pathway to mineral independence.

Key Takeaways:

• Dowd spotlighted his firm’s electrochemical REE separation process—faster, cleaner, and cheaper than China's solvent extraction. With DoD backing for terbium from recycled fluorescent lights, Rare Earth Salts is positioning itself as a domestic refining linchpin.
• Kaye warned that permitting timelines and price manipulation are the enemy, not geology. U.S. Critical Materials’ Sheep Creek deposit in Montana reportedly contains the highest-grade REEs ever found in the U.S.—plus gallium and samarium, both military-critical.
• Mashinsky, backed by General Atomics, emphasized Wyoming’s $170M Bear Lodge project. RER’s separation demo plant—DoE- and state-funded—will soon test proprietary tech to compete with Chinese refining. But without off-take guarantees or market stability, investor support remains precarious.
• Dr. Stoy broke the mining mold. Her company, Revalia, extracts REEs from coal ash, tailings, and waste streams. She called for investment in midstream capacity—not just new mines—while warning of long-term environmental risks and market opacity. Her firm relies heavily on federal seed funding to advance high-impact, high-risk technologies.

Unanswered Questions for Investors

• Will Congress act on the consensus around stockpiles, price floors, and permitting reform, or will it remain gridlocked?
• Can startups survive without clear price signals or structured offtake agreements?
• Is the U.S. over-relying on subsidies while failing to force demand through strategic purchasing?
• How will an absence of industrial policy impact a fragmented approach to upstream, midstream, downstream, and recycling initiatives?

This hearing made one thing clear: the solution won’t be purely geological or ideological—it will be political, financial, and fiercely technical.

Source: U.S. House Committee on Small Business Hearing, “Securing America’s Mineral Future,” June 2025, Video link via YouTube (opens in a new tab)