Rare earth alloy and master-alloy production

Why the concentration exists

Rare earth alloy production converts refined rare earth oxides into metals and master alloys through metallization and strip casting processes. The metallization step, which transforms oxides into pure metals, is identified as the least developed and most difficult capability to rebuild outside China. Strip casting furnaces produce NdFeB alloy flakes in batches ranging from 5 kg for research to 600 kg for industrial production. The United States stopped processing rare earths into metals roughly 40 years ago, leaving the knowledge base concentrated in a small number of facilities.[11][14][18]

What the evidence shows

Who supplies it

Zhongxin Antai, a unit of Northern Rare Earth, operates rare earth metals and alloys production in Baotou, Inner Mongolia. The company broke ground on an expansion project adding 8,000 tons per year of capacity, which will bring total annual output to 15,000 tons of rare earth metals and alloys. Northern Zhongxin Antai also produced its first batch of gadolinium-iron alloy from a newly constructed production line. Asia-Pacific remains the largest producer and consumer of rare earth metals with a volume share exceeding 65 percent in 2023.[13][16][19]

MP Materials commenced commercial production of neodymium-praseodymium metal at its Independence facility in Fort Worth, Texas in January 2025. The facility is poised to produce approximately 1,000 metric tons of finished NdFeB magnets per year, with a gradual production ramp beginning in late 2025. General Motors has committed to purchasing 1,000 metric tonnes of magnetic alloy and finished magnets for more than 12 models on their Ultium platform. The Department of Defense committed to a 10-year offtake agreement for 100 percent of the planned 10X Facility's magnet production.[4][8][10]

REalloys is building North America's first large-scale, fully integrated rare earth metallization facility designed to convert rare earth oxides into 3,000 tons per year of high-purity metals. The Saskatchewan Research Council's Saskatoon facility achieved North America's first commercial-scale rare earth metallization operation in 2024 with annual capacity of 2,500 tonnes of rare earth metals. RUSAL produces master alloys containing rare earth elements at its Aluminium Smelter in Krasnoyarsk with annual capacity exceeding 5,000 tonnes of melted master alloys. Less Common Metals operates 600 kg strip cast furnaces for producing NdFeB alloys, enabling multi-tonne quantities.[11][12][14][20]

What it depends on, and what depends on it

Rare earth alloy production requires refined rare earth oxides including neodymium-praseodymium oxide, dysprosium oxide, and terbium oxide as primary feedstocks. MP Materials produced approximately 1,300 metric tons of NdPr oxide at its Mountain Pass mine in 2024, alongside cerium, lanthanum, and other separated products. The Mountain Pass operation has capacity to produce 40,000 metric tonnes of total rare-earth oxides, representing around 11.5 percent of the global market. REalloys holds exclusive offtake for 80 percent of the Saskatchewan Research Council's heavy rare earth separation and metallization output.[4][8][25]

Magnets represent the leading global end use for rare earths, while catalysts are the leading domestic end use in the United States. Permanent magnets, metal alloys, and catalysts together accounted for more than 60 percent of the rare earth market in 2023. Other end uses include batteries, ceramics and glass, metallurgical applications and alloys, and polishing. Cerium oxide accounts for over 40 percent of the rare earth metal market, followed by lanthanum oxide with over 20 percent share.[2][19]

The Department of Defense has committed to purchase 7,000 metric tonnes per year for 10 years of rare-earth magnets from MP Materials. REalloys signed a strategic agreement with permanent magnet manufacturer JS Link to develop one of the first fully integrated non-Chinese rare earth magnet platforms. REalloys also holds a definitive long-term rare earth offtake agreement with Critical Metals Corp. for 15 percent of Tanbreez Phase 1 production. Apple invested $500 million in rare earths producer MP Materials in July 2025.[4][9][23][24]

Where it sits in the stack

What would break it

China placed export controls on seven rare earth elements and permanent magnets made from them on April 4, 2025, requiring national-security licenses for each shipment. Chinese rare earth magnet exports fell by roughly three-quarters in the two months following the controls. Ford shut down production of the Explorer at its Chicago Assembly plant in May 2025 because a supplier ran out of magnets. Prices of yttrium oxide jumped 60 percent since November 2025 and reached levels approximately 69 times higher than a year prior.[7][22]

China exported only 17 tons of yttrium products to the United States in the eight months after controls were introduced in April 2025, compared to 333 tons in the eight months before the measures. MP Materials halted rare-earth exports to China due to the tariff war in April 2025. Reports are circulating that China may ban the export of certain rare earth compounds and metals as domestic demand grows. Global rare-earth supply is expected to fall short of accelerating demand from electric vehicles and defense applications through the end of the decade.[3][7][9][21]

What to watch

MP Materials' Independence facility in Texas is expected to begin magnet production by the end of 2025 with capacity of 1,000 metric tons per year. USA Rare Earth's Oklahoma facility is set to enter commercial production in the first half of 2026, with expected output of nearly 5,000 tonnes of magnets annually at full capacity. REalloys Phase 1 production using Saskatchewan Research Council infrastructure is targeted for late 2026 through 2027, with planned capacity of 525 tonnes per year of NdPr metal. The Saskatchewan Research Council's heavy rare earth production is on track to come online in early 2027.[4][6][15][25]

MP Materials' 10X Facility will add an estimated 10,000 metric tons per year of NdFeB magnet production capacity when commissioned in 2028. USA Rare Earth brought forward the planned commercialization of its Round Top project in Texas by two years, with first production targeted for late 2028. REalloys Phase 2 large-scale U.S. facilities are targeted around the 2029 to 2030 timeframe, with planned capacity of 3,000 tonnes per year of NdPr, 200 tonnes of dysprosium, and 45 tonnes of terbium metals. REalloys' wholly owned heavy rare earth metallization facility in Euclid, Ohio is expected to begin initial operations in the first half of 2027.[5][6][15][17]

Starting in 2027, DFARS sourcing rules will restrict Chinese-origin rare earth materials in defense applications, intensifying competition for qualified non-Chinese magnets. The DFARS 252.225-7052 deadline of January 1, 2027 prohibits the Department of Defense from procuring covered systems containing permanent magnets with rare earth materials from prohibited sources including China. REalloys expects to receive high-purity dysprosium and terbium oxides for qualification as early as Q4 2026 from its arrangement with the Saskatchewan Research Council. The Department of Defense introduced a 10-year price floor for neodymium-praseodymium oxide set at $110 per kilogram to support capacity expansion.[1][5][25][26]

Related nodes

Sources

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