The US Army will allow several companies to build critical minerals processing plants at military bases around the country as part of a Trump administration push for more domestic production.
REalloys Inc., Titan Mining Corp., ioneer Ltd. and Energy Exploration Technologies (EnergyX) have reached agreements with the Pentagon to build the plants, according to people familiar with the matter, who asked not be identified ahead of an official announcement. The new facilities will handle rare earth minerals, graphite, lithium and boron, they said.
Boosting US capacity in critical minerals and reducing reliance on imports — especially from China — has been a priority for President Donald Trump during his second term in office. Initiatives have included government loans and taking equity stakes in producers, but using military property represents a first-of-its-kind approach to mineral processing in the US.
Rare earths, lithium and graphite are essential to a wide range of applications, including consumer electronics, automobiles and defense technologies.
REalloys will construct a rare-earth separation facility at the Toole Army Depot in Utah, and production will be stockpiled on-site for military use, the people said.
Titan Mining will build and operate graphite purification facilities at Pine Bluff Arsenal in Arkansas and Anniston Army Depot in Alabama, the people also said. Energy Exploration Technologies and Sydney-based ioneer — the only non-US company of the four involved — will develop a lithium facility and a boron plant respectively.
The Pentagon, REalloys and Titan declined to comment while ioneer and Energy Exploration Technologies didn’t immediately respond to requests for comment.
Geopolitical tensions over critical minerals have shown no sign of easing. Last week, China’s Commerce Department placed export controls on US rare earth companies MP Materials Corp. and USA Rare Earth Inc., while the Group of Seven nations set a target to reduce their reliance on Chinese imports.
USA Rare Earth signed an accord in January for $1.6 billion in funding toward plans for new mining, processing and magnet-making capacity. The federal government also unveiled plans in February to build a $12 billion stockpile of critical minerals.
Last week, the Department of War’s Office of Strategic Capital extended a $725 million conditional loan to Energy Fuels Inc. and a $500 million loan to Phoenix Tailings Inc. Days later, Energy Fuels agreed to buy rare-earth magnet supplier Vacuumschmelze GmbH & Co. and associated companies for $1.9 billion, which will give it plants in Germany and Finland as well as a newly commissioned facility in South Carolina.
The plan to build mineral plants on army bases was foreshadowed in March of last year when President Donald Trump signed an executive order invoking emergency powers to boost critical minerals production capabilities.
Mines and processing plants are expensive and challenging to build, and frequently get pushback from people living near proposed locations. Meanwhile, the Pentagon under Trump has sought ways in which it can utilize its properties, including for data centers.
REalloys currently produces alloys at a plant in Ohio and works with the Saskatchewan Research Council to produce so-called heavy rare earths like terbium and dysprosium. Its Utah plant will focus on rare earths that are in particular high demand owing to their use in heat-resistant magnets for defense and automobiles. The planned facility doesn’t require taxpayer funding, the people said.
The company raised $100 million in a private placement of common stock on Wednesday.
Titan, a firm backed by Canadian mining billionaire Richard Warke, owns zinc and graphite projects in New York.
(By Jacob Lorinc)
