Highlights
- In early 2026, Western rare earth projects progressed from ambition to execution, marked by:
- MP Materials securing a $400 million investment from the Department of Defense (DoD) and evaluating a $1.2 billion magnet campus in Texas.
- Lynas projecting a 53% production growth despite power disruptions in Kalgoorlie.
- Strategic capital is actively flowing through the sector:
- Gina Rinehart increased her stakes in Arafura (~15.7%) and MP Materials.
- Government backing intensified with Australia's $1.65 billion loan to Iluka and growing U.S. defense commitments across various players.
- Midstream capacity is expanding, yet remains fragile:
- Energy Fuels operates commercial NdPr refining at White Mesa.
- Neo opened Europe's first mass-production magnet facility in Estonia.
- France's Carester targets late-2026 commissioning, yet the non-Chinese ecosystem is still in transition and not entirely secure.
The first full trading week of 2026 underscored a decisive shift in the global rare earth and magnet supply chain: capital is flowing (although not at the velocity we would like), governments are intervening directly, and Western projects are moving—sometimes unevenly—from ambition toward execution.
From Lynas grappling with commissioning realities even as heavy rare earth production expands, to MP Materials leveraging unprecedented U.S. defense backing for magnet manufacturing, the week highlighted both progress and fragility across the non-Chinese ecosystem.
Key developers including Iluka, Arafura, Hastings, and Vital advanced financing, partnerships, or technology pivots, while midstream players such as Neo, Ucore, Energy Fuels, and ASM reinforced the strategic importance of processing and magnet capacity. Collectively, the developments as we move into 2026 illustrate a supply chain still in transition—no longer theoretical, but not yet secure.
Rare Earth Exchanges™ provides selected updates on key companies operating across the upstream (mining)and midstream (processing) segments of the rare earth supply chain.While not all companies included in the Rare Earth Exchanges rankings are covered here, the objective is to give investors in rare earth elements (REE) upstream, midstream and downstream a clear, objective snapshot of a representative cross-section of the market and its current state of development.
Table of Contents
MP Materials (opens in a new tab) (USA) (NYSE: MP) $62.38 ytd +22.72%, market cap $10.9b*
MP Materials, America’s rare earth treasure trove, is accelerating downstream magnet ambitions with unusually direct U.S. government backing. The company’s Mountain Pass ranks #2 worldwide ex-China via Rare Earth Exchanges. In July 2025, MP announced a DoD partnership including a $400m investment, a 10-year price floor for Neodymium-praseodymium (NdPr), and long-term purchase commitments tied to a new “10X” facility. In the Jan 5–10, 2026 window, the key “deal watch” item is North Texas: MP is evaluating Northlake, Texas for a $1.2b magnet campus (opens in a new tab); local officials are considering incentives. Note: MP’s Fort Worth site is often described locally as “opened in 2023,” but MP’s own disclosures indicate the facility’s ramp has been staged (precursors first, finished magnets later). Mountain Pass remains America’s only active rare earth mining and processing operation of scale, and MP reported >45,000 metric tons REO contained in concentrate in 2024. As Rare Earth Exchanges has reported, MP must find ways to produce heavy rare earth elements, and while public disclosures suggestfeasible, private chatter implies a steep climb in the short term atleast. Rare Earth Exchanges monitors carefully. MP Materials' biggest shareholders include Gina Rinehart's Hancock Prospecting, Vanguard, BlackRock, State Street, and CEO James Litinsky, with Rinehart becoming the largest individual investor as of late 2025; the U.S. Department of Defense also agreed to become a significant shareholder through a preferred stock investment in mid-2025, aligning with national interests in domestic rare earth supply. * While MP Materials’ valuation multiple may appear elevated on conventional metrics, the company sits at the apex of the U.S. response to China’s rare earth element dominance. As a result, the market is likely to continue assigning a strategic security premium, with a credible case that MP Materials is effectively “too strategic to fail.” At the same time, that positioning raises the bar: expectations to execute across multiple fronts—scaling domestic refining capacity, including heavy rare earths, and delivering commercial magnet production—are intensifying rather than easing.
Lynas Rare Earths (opens in a new tab) (Australia/Malaysia) (LYC.AX) 14.10, ytd +13.34%, market cap $9.51b
Lynas, #1 on the light rare earth Rare Earth Exchanges ex-China list is positioned for a stronger FY2026 as new capacity ramps. Visible Alpha consensus cited by S&P Global projects total rare earth oxide production rising ~53% YoY to ~16.1k tonnes in 2026. Lynas is also broadening its product mix: it expects to start samarium production in 1H 2026, tied to expansion work on its heavy rare earth separation circuit in Malaysia. To fund growth, Lynas completed a A$750m equity raise in late Aug 2025. A near-term operational headwind remains reliability at its Kalgoorlie facility: repeated power disruptions in 2025 (notably November) led Lynas to warn of a shortfall equating to about one month’s worth of production in the quarter, with downstream impacts expected for Malaysia; Lynas said it is evaluating off-grid power and working with the WA government and Western Power. The shareholder register is led by large, long-term institutional and strategic investors, indicating strong mainstream and strategic backing. AustralianSuper is the largest holder with about 94.3 million shares (9.37%, ~$895 million), followed by mining billionaire Georgina Rinehart with 76.8 million shares (7.63%, ~$728 million). Other major positions are held by Australian fund managers Ausbil Investment Management, Greencape Capital, and Challenger Ltd., each owning around 4–5%. Strategic and global exposure is reinforced by Japan Australia Rare Earth BV and major index managers BlackRock and State Street Global Advisors, together underscoring a diversified, institutionally anchored ownership base.
USA Rare Earth (USA) (NasdaqGM. USAR), $17.28, ytd 45.21%, market cap $2.4b
USA Rare Earth is pursuing a vertically integrated mine-to-magnet strategy designed to establish a fully domestic U.S. rare earth permanent magnet supply chain independent of China, and by the end of 2025 the company had moved from concept to early execution. Upstream, USA Rare Earth controls the Round Top project in Texas, a large, polymetallic deposit rich in heavy rare earth elements (including dysprosium and terbium) as well as lithium, gallium, and other critical materials, positioning it as a long-life strategic resource pending further development and permitting. The project has faced delays due to technical hurdles in extraction/processing, complex environmental regulations (NEPA), financial challenges, and earlier struggles with outdated magnet production equipment, though USAR recently announced plans to accelerate production to 2028 by integrating parallel processing at their Coloradofacility. The project's multi-decade development involves complex stepsfrom mining to magnet production, battling issues like extracting valuable elements from complex ores and managing co-located uranium, plus investor scrutiny over past performance. Downstream, the company has made its most tangible progress, commissioning and scaling a sintered NdFeB magnet manufacturing facility in Stillwater, Oklahoma, which by late 2025 was producing magnets and qualifying materials for defense, automotive, and industrial customers. The firm acquired Less Common Metals, producer and supplier of rare-earth metals, specialty alloys (like NdFeB for magnets), and advanced materials, acting as a crucial midstream link in the supply chain for electric vehicles, defense, aerospace, and clean energy tech, offering custom alloy development, recycling, and research support, with a focus on sustainable, non-China production. While Round Top remains a longer-dated asset, by the end of 2025 USA Rare Earth had established itself as one of the few U.S. companies with credible, operational magnet-making capability and a clear pathway toward full vertical integration as domestic separation and mining advance.
Iluka Resources – Eneabba Rare Earth Refinery (Australia) (ILU.AX); 6.18, ytd 6.74%, market cap $1.82b
Iluka is building Australia’s first fully integrated rare earth refinery at Eneabba. Iluka states it has a $1.65b non-recourse loan under the Australian Government’s Critical Minerals Facility. The additional funding package announced in Dec 2024 (bringing the total to $1.65b) was explicitly conditional on securing offtake agreements consistent with community benefits principles. The refinery remains publicly described as on track for commissioning in 2027. The firm’s biggest shareholders are primarily large investment firms, with Cooper Investors, Norges Bank Investment Management, Aware Super, Vanguard, and Van Eck.
Arafura Rare Earths – Nolans Project (Australia) (ARU.AX) 0.2950 ytd 9.26%, market cap $903.6m
Arafura has signaled FID in early 2026 for Nolans, with market attention high around that milestone. The company raised A$475m (plus an additional A$50m SPP) in late 2025; Gina Hancock’s firm Hancock Prospecting committed A$125m, lifting its stake to ~15.7%. Arafura has strong potential due to its Nolans Project, Australia's first integrated mine-to-oxide rare earth facility, offering a secure, non-Chinese supply of critical NdPr for EVs/wind turbines, backed by government funding, major offtake agreements (Hyundai, Siemens Gamesa), strong ESG alignment, a large resource, and its unique ability to bypass China's processing dominance by producing separated oxides directly. Its strategic positioning addresses global supply chain vulnerabilities, attracting significant government interest and industry confidence. REEx suggests investors to watch this one carefully. The Australian company’s largest shareholders include Hancock Prospecting (Gina Rinehart) significantly increasing its stake, alongside major institutional holders like Vanguard Group, Sprott, and Dimensional Fund Advisors, with large index funds holding significant portions, though precise percentages fluctuate with placements. As cited above, Hancock Prospecting, following recent capital raises, holds a substantial interest, with figures around 8.6% to 15.7% cited, while Vanguard funds hold millions of shares.
Brazilian Rare Earth (BRE.XA) 4.17, ytd 5.53%, market cap $760m
Brazilian Rare Earths is advancing its strategy to become a significant rare earth producer by developing Brazil’s high-grade rare earth assets (including heavies) and building downstream processing capacity. In 2025 the company struck a strategic 10-year partnership with Carester SAS, under which it will supply up to 150 tonnes per year of heavy rare earth feedstock (notably dysprosium and terbium) to Carester’s planned European separation and recycling complex, while Carester will also provide engineering and technical support for Brazilian Rare Earths’ own integrated rare earth separation plant at theCamaçari Petrochemical Complex in Bahia, Brazil. This long-termofftake and collaboration is designed to accelerate BRE’s refinery development, connect Brazil into global rare earth supply chains, and help address the strategic shortage of heavy rare earths used in high-performance permanent magnets.
The biggest shareholders in Brazilian Rare Earths include Kuda Huraa Mining Ventures & Global Investments Corp as the largest, followed by Whitehaven Coal, and key figures like Chairman Todd Hannigan, while mining magnate Gina Rinehart's Hancock Prospecting also holds a substantial stake, reflecting strong insider and strategic resource investor backing.
Ucore Rare Metals (USA/Canada) (UURAF), 5.16 ytd 29.32%, market cap $571.74m
Ucore continues to position RapidSX for commercialization in Louisiana. In Dec 2025, Ucore stated it had completed ~5,700 hours of processing at its Kingston, Ontario demonstration facility in a simulated 24/7 environment, producing multiple REE product groups. Big question—how does RapidSX perform at scale? Ucore acquired Innovation Metals Corp. (IMC), the developer of the RapidSX technology, for approximately C$5.8 million (about $4.1 million USD at the time) in 2020, paying with a combination of shares and cash, with funding also coming from a concurrent debenture. This acquisition brought the critical metals separation technology into Ucore's portfolio, supporting their strategy for a US supply chain. Ucore Rare Metals' biggest shareholders are primarily insiders, with Randy Johnson (Director) and Orca Holdings, LLC being significant holders, both holding around 9-10% each, alongside CEO Patrick Ryan, though overall institutional ownership is very low, with Org Partners LLC holding a small portion, reflecting a mix of individual insiders and significant private company/entity ownership.
Neo Performance Materials (Canada, Europe) (NEO.TO) 18.78, ytd 20.77%, market cap $563.3m
Neo reported a notable legal/financial update right in the window: on Jan 2, 2026, Neo announced (opens in a new tab) a settlement in European patent litigation with Rhodia (Solvay), including a €7.1m payment in Q1 2026 and mutual release/withdrawal of proceedings. Neo also opened its Estonia permanent magnet facility in Sept 2025; Mining.com described it as Europe’s first to mass produce rare earth magnets. Revenue generating and profits at EBITDA Neo remains an important player. NEO set up Europe's largest rare earth permanent magnet manufacturing facility in Narva, Estonia, to supply magnets for electric vehicles (EVs), wind turbines, and other clean energy tech, aiming to reduce Europe's reliance on China for these critical materials, with production just starting. The plant, a crucial part of Europe's supply chain for the green transition, features sintered NdFeB magnet production and Europe's first dysprosium/terbium oxide line, becoming operational in less than 500 days They continue to manage a couple magnet plants in China and are traded on Canada exchange. NEO’s largest shareholders include Canada and Singapore-based Mawer Investment Management Ltd. (around 9-12%), Hastings Technology Metals (via Wyloo/HTM, ~20%), and significant holdings by retail/individual investors, with Mackenzie Financial Corp and others like RobecoSAM AG also holding notable stakes, though the single largest is often cited as Hastings/Wyloo or general public investors depending on the report date.
Aclara Resources (Chile & Canada) (ARA.TO) 2.61, ytd 21.96%, market cap $412.4m
Aclara Resources made steady, credibility-building progress over the pastmonth, centered on permitting de-risking, stakeholder engagement, anddownstream positioning, with no negative surprises in early January 2026. In Chile, Aclara advanced the Penco Module by formally relinquishing all water rights—an important step to strengthen its Environmental Impact Assessment and community acceptance—while hosting a high-profile visit from European Union ambassadors, underscoring strategic Western interest in its rare earth supply. In Brazil, pilot-scale work at the Carina Module continued, supporting the company’s ionic clay processing model and longer-term separation plans. No material new disclosures were released during Jan 5–10, 2026, but December developments remain operative. Strategically, Aclara benefits from two anchor corporate mining investors: CAP S.A., which provides domestic industrial credibility, local operating expertise, and alignment with Chilean regulators; and Hochschild Mining, which brings mine-building, permitting, and capital-markets discipline. Together, these partners materially reduce execution risk as Aclara pushes toward development decisions in 2026. Company is ambitious, thinking big with separation/refining pilot at Virginia tech and targeted production refining in Louisiana. Still early days but lots of potential.
Pensana Rare Earths PLC – Longonjo (UK, Angola) & Refinery Strategy (PRE.L) 88.80, ytd 0.45%, market cap $405.3m
Pensana Rare Earths PLC (Pensana) trades on multiple markets using different instruments. The company’s primary listing is on the London Stock Exchange (LSE) under the symbol PRE.L, where the shares trade in pence sterling (GBX) and represent the company’s ordinary shares. The OTC Markets ticker (OTCMKTS: PNSPF) is a secondary, unsponsored U.S. over-the-counter quotation that allows U.S. investors to trade Pensana without accessing the LSE directly. OTC shares typically reflect the same underlying equity but are priced in U.S. dollars, adjusted for FX rates, liquidity, market depth, and timing differences. Because OTC trading is usually much less liquid, prices can diverge from the LSE listing due to wider bid–ask spreads, delayed arbitrage, currency conversion effects, and lower trading volumes. In short, PRE.L is the price-setting market, while PNSPF is a convenience mirror for U.S. investors—so the two prices are linked economically but rarely identical at any given moment/
Pensana pivoted from the Saltend (Hull) refinery plan in Oct 2025 and publicly redirected its focus to the U.S., explicitly citing the funding environment; The company intended to pivot toward U.S. support. Multiple outlets also reported the UK government offer was £5m, far below the overall capex need. Rare Earth Exchanges has pointed to the localization model in South America and focus on North American partnerships. Management is savvy, comprehensive strategy and the usual risks—seeking connectivity downstream for monetization. Pensana has a diversified but clearly institutional-anchored shareholder base, led by nominee and custody accounts alongside a mix of specialist investors and high-net-worth individuals. The largest holder is HSBC Custody Nominees (Australia) with approximately 16.5 million units (10.8%), reflecting broad custodial and institutional participation. This is followed by Selection Capital Limited (8.7 million units, 5.7%) and Richard Arthur Lockwood (5.2 million units, 3.4%), indicating meaningful cornerstone and insider-style support. Other notable holders include JP Morgan Nominees Australia, Ashanti Investment Fund, Ponderosa Investments, and Citicorp Nominees, underscoring strong representation from funds, superannuation vehicles, and nominee structures. Collectively, the top 20 holders control about 45.4% of Pensana’s CHESS Depositary Interests, suggesting a balanced register with sufficient liquidity alongside a solid long-term ownership core.
Australian Strategic Materials (ASM.AX) 0.75, ytd 7.91% market cap: $201.04m
Australian Strategic Materials (ASM) is an integrated critical-minerals company focused on building a secure, non-Chinese supply chain for rare earths and specialty metals. Its flagship Dubbo Project in New South Wales hosts a long-life, polymetallic resource (including rare earths, zirconium, niobium, and hafnium), while itsKorean Metals Plant (KMP) in South Korea represents a strategicdownstream asset producing high-purity oxides and metals closer to end-users. ASM’s strategy emphasizes vertical integration, advanced metallurgical processing, and partnerships with Western governments and manufacturers seeking resilient supply chains for clean energy, defense, and advanced manufacturing applications. Last July the company reported the first commercial sales of 2 kg Tb metal and 2 kg Dy metal (to Neo’s Magnequench) from its Korean metallization plant, plus 10 tonnes NdPr metal. The biggest shareholders of Australian Strategic Materials Ltd (ASM.AX) include the Gandel Family (commercial real estate) (around 13.6%), with other significant holdings by Fidelity International Ltd, and entities like Magnabay Pty Ltd, Lilycreek Pty Ltd, and Auburnvalley Pty Ltd, alongside various Dimensional Fund Advisors (DFA) institutional funds holding smaller but notable percentages, with insiders holding around 16.4% of the company.
Rainbow Rare Earths – Phalaborwa (South Africa, Guernsey) (RBWRF) 0.2102, ytd 4.51%, market cap $160.23m
Rainbow continues advancing the Phalaborwa phosphogypsum reprocessing project; a key correction here is timing specificity: Rainbow’s LSE filing (Oct 2025 results) guided to the DFS being completed in Q1 2026, after a quarter of pilot testing to confirm the proposed flowsheet. The company’s share register is anchored by a small group of strategic and insider-aligned holders, providing a relatively stable ownership base. Adonis Pouroulis (seasoned mining entrepreneur, investor, and qualified mining engineer) is the largest shareholder with approximately 89.5 million shares, representing 13.9% of issued capital, followed by critical mineral investor TechMet Limited with 75.2 million shares (11.7%), underscoring strong institutional and strategic interest. George Bennett, CEO holds 40.5 million shares (6.3%), while Caden Holdings controls nearly 37.0 million shares (5.7%). Collectively, these four shareholders control roughly 38% of the company, indicating meaningful concentrated ownership and potential long-term strategic alignment.
Hastings Technology Metals – Yangibana Project (Australia) (HAS.AX) 0.59 ytd 14.56%, market cap $87.62m
Last February Hastings executed binding documentation (opens in a new tab) to sell 60% of Yangibana to Wyloo and form a JV, materially de-risking funding requirements. Company has a two-stage plan including a mine, beneficiation plant, and hydrometallurgical facility. The restructure included cancellation/offset of ~A$135m in Hastings exchangeable notes via a related arrangement (reported by Wyloo and market coverage). Major holders, as of early 2024 reports, included CITICORP NOMINEES PTY LIMITED (around 13.95%), EQUATOR CAPITAL MANAGEMENT LTD (around 12.59%), and BNP PARIBAS NOMINEES PTY LTD (around 12.36%), with these top shareholders controlling a significant majority (around 77.90%) of the company's capital, alongside significant individual investors like Foon Lew and institutional players like L1 Capital.
Vital Metals – Nechalacho/Tardiff Project (Canada) (VML.AX) 0.19, ytd -11.76%, market cap $52.3m
Vital is pivoting from its earlier Nechalacho pilot history toward the larger Tardiff opportunity and testing Dry Field Force Extraction (DFFE). In Aug 2025, Vital announced a A$6.8m strategic placement backed by Strategic Resources LLC to fund a PFS and expand DFFE testing. The biggest shareholders of Vital Metals (include Strategic Resources, LLC, holding around 20% through Director David Dikken, and Cany Capital Fund Llc, also with roughly 20%, alongside key strategic investor Shenghe Resources (a major Chinese rare earth player) with nearly 10%, though recent filings and strategic investments suggest a mix of significant insiders and funds own large chunks.
MidStream
Midstream in the REE supply chain is the crucial, complex stage of separating and refining mined REE concentrate into individual, high-purity oxides or metals, making them usable for high-tech applications like magnets, electronics, and defense systems; it's a significant choke point dominated by China, requiring substantial investment for new domestic facilities in the West to achieve supply chain independence
Notably, Lynas Rare Earths, MP Materials, and USA Rare Earth are each pursuing—at different stages and with differing levels of maturity—integrated mine-to-magnet strategies, positioning them among the limited group of Western companies seeking end-to-end control from resource extraction through rare earth separation and permanent magnet manufacturing. Other refining players cited above include Iluka Resources.
Energy Fuels (USA) (UUUU) $18.25 ytd +27.80%, market cap $4.31b
On Jan 8, 2026, Energy Fuels, a uranium processor, issued an updated feasibility study for its Madagascar mineral sands/rare earth project (branded Vara Mada / Toliara), highlighting $1.8b NPV (10% discount) and large-scale projected output including ~24,000 tpa monazite alongside ilmenite/zircon. Rare Earth Exchanges suggests potential for Energy Fuels as significant American refining player in future but consistent feedstock and the poof at scale is yet to come. Just over 16% of investors have short positions.
As of theend of 2025, Energy Fuels has commercial rare earth oxide refiningcapacity at its White Mesa Mill in Utah, primarily producing separated NdPr oxide at scale with an annual design capacity of approximately 850–1,000 tonnes per year, making it one of the few U.S. domestic producers of separated rare earth oxides. Additionally, the company has moved into pilot-scale production of heavy rare earth oxides, notably dysprosium (Dy) oxide at high purity (99.9%), producing quantities on the order of kilograms per week as part of initial test runs, with plans to expand to terbium and other heavy elements. Full commercial heavy rare earth production is being targeted with expanded infrastructure by late 2026, but as of 2025 the focus remains on commercial NdPr output and pilot heavy rare earth volumes.
By late last year, the shareholder base is dominated by large global asset managers and ETF sponsors, signaling strong institutional conviction. Alps Advisors is the largest holder with 13.47 million shares (5.67%, ~$245 million), followed closely by BlackRock (12.75 million shares,5.37%, ~$232 million), Mirae Asset Global ETFs (12.25 million shares,5.16%, ~$222 million), and Vanguard (11.88 million shares, 5.01%, ~$216 million). VanEck also holds a significant position with 10.19 million shares (4.30%, ~$185 million), reinforcing the ETF-driven ownership profile. Active managers and financial institutions—including T. Rowe Price, Susquehanna, State Street, Bank of America, and BNP Paribas—collectively add further depth, bringing broad-based institutional ownership well beyond 30% of outstanding shares, a structure typically associated with liquidity, benchmark inclusion, and sustained market attention.
ReElement Technologies (USA)(privately held but up to $80m loan from U.S. government and $200 million private equity investment).
n 2025, ReElement Technologies advanced its effort to establish a domestic U.S. rare earth and critical-minerals refining platform, making progress across partnerships, infrastructure, technology validation, and government engagement. The company deepened collaboration with Vulcan Elements toward a long-term U.S. NdFeB magnet supply chain and entered strategic offtake and cooperation agreements with POSCO International America for phased deliveries of separated rare earth oxides. ReElement also expanded its recycling pipeline through a partnership with Electronic Recyclers International, enabling recovery of rare earths from e-waste and end-of-life magnets, and completed a demonstration run producing 99.9%-pure neodymium, praseodymium, and dysprosium from recycled wind-turbine magnets.
Operationally, ReElement continued scaling its modular refining platform in Indiana, moving from pilot toward early commercial throughput measured in the low hundreds of tonnes per year while retaining flexibility across feedstocks including magnets, batteries, and mineral concentrates. The company expanded international cooperation, including work related to tungsten processing in Uzbekistan, joined the defense-focused CREATE consortium, and secured amix of private capital and early U.S. Department of Defense support. Itspatented, chromatography-based separation technology—licensed from Purdue University—is positioned as a lower-waste, lower-water alternative to conventional solvent extraction. The year concluded with multiple patent filings and formal recognition from the Krach Institute for Tech Diplomacy, underscoring ReElement’s growing strategic relevance.
By year-end 2025, ReElement was actively producing high-purity rare earth and specialty oxides at its expanded Noblesville, Indiana facility, demonstrating separations of elements including Nd, Pr, Dy, and Y at purities of roughly 99.9% to 99.999%, though it had not yet reached sustained large-scale commercial capacity. In parallel, the company was developing its larger Marion, Indiana “Supersite,” with Phase 1 designed to support approximately 2,500–3,500 metric tons per year of magnet-grade rare earths, battery materials, and antimony once installation and staged commissioning are completed. Together, the Noblesville and Marion sites reflect ReElement’s incremental, modular scale-up strategy, bridging demonstrated refining capability with near-termexpansion rather than relying on long-dated, fully financed scale-outassumptions.
Saskatchewan Research Council (SRC) (Canada)—government-owned entity
As of today SRC is operating its Rare Earth Processing Facility in Saskatoon, but it has not yet reached its full planned commercial capacity; it continues to ramp up production with further commissioning and expansion planned through 2026–2027. The facility previously demonstrated output at commercial scale — producing about 10 tonnes per month of NdPr metal, with plans to increase toward roughly 40 tonnes per month as machinery and separation technologies come online, which would equate to around 400 tonnes per year of NdPr metals once fully operational. Initial construction delays have slowed progress, and the facility expects to reach its full design output — including significant quantities of NdPr metal plus dysprosium (Dy) and terbium (Tb) oxides — by late 2026 into early 2027.
Carester SAS (France) (privately held)
Carester SAS is a France-based rare earth processing, refining, and recycling specialist focused on establishing non-Chinese industrial capacity across both light and heavy rare earth elements. Headquartered near Lyon, Carester combines separation technology and engineering services with recycling know-how, operating through its industrial arm. The team consists of experts previously at Solvay.
Its flagship project is the Caremag separation and recycling facility in Lacq, southwest France, supported by French state funding and Japanese partners (about €216 million in total). As of January 2026, the Lacq plant remains under construction with no commercial production yet; initial commissioning and test runs are expected late in 2026.
Publicly stated capacities—subject to ramp-up risk—include processing up to ~5,000 tonnes per year of rare earth concentrate, recycling ~2,000 tonnes per year of NdFeB magnets, and producing on the order of ~800 tpa of NdPr oxides and several hundred tonnes per year of heavy rare earth oxides (primarily dysprosium and terbium) once stabilized.
Carester’s near-term strategy is deliberately phased. In 2026, priorities center on commissioning, early deliveries, and qualifying output with industrial customers rather than achieving nameplate volumes. In 2027, management has indicated an intention to scale operations progressively toward steady-state throughput, expand magnet recycling inputs, and deepen technical services for integrated supply chains.
A key pillar is its October 2025 binding 10-year partnership with Brazilian Rare Earths Limited, under which Carester will purchase up to ~150 tonnes per year of contained Dy/Tb oxides from BRE’s planned Bahia separation plant and provide engineering and commissioning support. The arrangement offers Carester a credible, non-Chinese heavy-REE feedstock pathway while linking Brazilian upstream resources to European midstream capacity. In a global context where China still dominates rare earth processing (especially heavies), Carester is positioning Caremag as a strategically important—but still emerging—Western refining and recycling node, with execution and ramp-up over the next two years determining its ultimate impact.
SolvaySA (Belgium) (SOLB.BR), 27.00, ytd -1.17%, market cap $2.83b
Solvay is a Belgian multinational chemical group with roots dating back to 1863, specializing in essential chemistry across a range of industrial sectors including: chemicals, materials, and performance products, and is listed on Euronext Brussels. In the rare earth element arena, Solvay is one of the few non-Chinese companies with advanced rare earth separation and purification capabilities, leveraging more than 75 years of expertise to serve markets such as automotive, electronics, medical technologies, and hydrogen applications.
Its historic La Rochelle, France facility—once a major global processor—has been reinvigorated to produce and expand commercial rare earth oxide outputs, especially NdPr and other materials for permanent magnets, with capacity currently scaled for early commercial deliveries and further ramp-up planned toward meeting a significant share of European demand.
Solvay has also entered supply agreements with U.S. magnet makers (e.g., Noveon) and partners for recycled feedstocks, and is exploring the possibility of a U.S. processing facility to complement its European base. This strategic rare earth position aligns with broader goals of reducing dependence on Chinese processing and strengthening Western supply chains for critical materials.
Initial operations in 2025 are producing a few hundred tonnes of rare earth oxides for magnets, marking the start of output for this material class. Looking ahead, Solvay has indicated that its expanded rare earth refining capacity could ultimately range from about 2,000 to 5,000 metric tons per year of rare earth oxides at full commercial scale — focusing on NdPr and related oxides — conditional on market demand and further investment decisions.
The company also aims to supply a meaningful portion of European demand for permanent-magnet rare earths (20–30 %) by 2030, which implies continued capacity growth beyond these initial projections.
Koch Modular Process Systems (USA) privately held
Koch Modular Process Systems was created as a joint venture with Koch-Glitsch, and Koch-Glitsch’s parent company is Koch Industries, one of the largest privately held corporations in the U.S.
Koch Modular itself operates as a separate entity formed through that joint venture rather than a standard Koch Industries subsidiary. They are a U.S.-based engineering and modular construction firm with decades of experience in chemical process design, pilot testing, and modular plant delivery, now applying its expertise to REE refining and critical mineral separations. The company’s core capability lies in advanced liquid-liquid extraction and solvent extraction technologies (e.g., SCHEIBEL® and KARR® columns) that efficiently separate targeted rare earths and critical metals from aqueous solutions, replacing traditional mixer-settlers with more compact, cost-effective, and controllable modular systems. These technologies can be validated at Koch Modular’s expanded pilot plant in Houston, Texas, where bench- and pilot-scale testing generates the data required to scale to commercial operations with performance guarantees.
Koch Modular’s rare earth development offering spans pilot-to-plant programs that validate extraction performance, optimize throughput, and de-risk investment prior to full-scale deployment, enabling clients to accelerate time to market and reduce capital and operating costs. While Koch Modular does not itself produce refined rare earth oxides, its modular extraction systems and engineering support are positioned to enable domestic and international rare earth processing facilities, including mining and recycling projects, by supplying tested and scalable separation technology crucial for commercial REE refining.
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