U.S. Critical Minerals Push Challenges China’s Dominance as Energy Fuels Expands Domestic Rare Earth Magnet Production

SALT LAKE CITY, Utah — As the United States accelerates its efforts to secure domestic critical minerals and break dependence on foreign supply chains, Energy Fuels is spearheading a major expansion to challenge China’s longstanding dominance in the rare earth sector. According to Energy Fuels President and CEO Ross Bhappu, the current reliance on imported materials places the U.S. “at the mercy of China,” prompting a strategic push to rebuild a fully integrated, commercial-scale mine-to-magnets platform on American soil.

The urgency of this initiative stems from a stark reality: the United States currently imports approximately 95% of the magnets required for everyday and advanced technologies. These components are essential for smartphones, electric vehicles, commercial transportation, and military aircraft actuators. Over recent decades, China has built a dominant position in the rare earth supply chain, controlling the critical processing stages that transform raw minerals into high-performance magnets.

To address these supply chain choke points—namely separations, metal making, and magnet manufacturing—Energy Fuels is actively expanding its Utah mill to produce heavy rare-earth elements. The company recently announced the acquisition of ASM Strategic Materials, a firm that converts rare earth oxides into metals and alloys. Furthermore, Energy Fuels acquired a leading German magnet producer, VAC, which serves over 1,000 customers, manufactures 2,000 magnet-related products, and has produced over a billion magnets in the past decade.

Ross Bhappu emphasized that this amalgamation of assets allows the company to avoid “recreating the wheel.” By combining upstream separation expertise with downstream processing capabilities, Energy Fuels aims to become the foremost leader in the Western commercial supply chain. The company is also installing a new facility to process rare earth feedstocks, focusing on heavy rare earth minerals like dysprosium and terbium. These specific elements are essential for manufacturing highly engineered magnets capable of operating at the extremely high temperatures required by aerospace and defense applications.

The scale of this domestic production is designed to be highly impactful. Once fully operational, the company’s processing facilities in South Carolina will produce enough magnets to supply 800,000 electric vehicles, four million internal combustion engine vehicles, and one billion smartphones. Bhappu clarified that the company is already producing and separating rare earth minerals at a commercial scale, yielding a thousand tons of mixed rare earths, moving the operation well beyond the pilot phase.

The push for domestic independence is echoed across the broader industry. Barbara Humpton, CEO of U.S. Rare Earth, highlighted that China currently has access to about half of the world’s required rare earths and is expected to consume a significant portion for its own future economic growth. Humpton noted that processing remains one of the weakest links in the Western supply chain, prompting her company to pilot a high-level demonstration facility for mineral separation.

This broader initiative aligns with ongoing federal efforts to relaunch the American nuclear and critical minerals industries. Industry leaders, including Christopher Wright, have previously highlighted the push to expand domestic uranium production, noting recent licensing milestones for Tennessee-based companies to produce commercial fuel for nuclear reactors at scale.

Bhappu affirmed that the current administration has been highly supportive of growing this sector, emphasizing that public-private collaboration and streamlined permitting are vital to codifying these executive efforts. By merging existing expertise rather than starting from scratch, U.S. companies are positioning themselves to win in a challenging space long dominated by foreign counterparts, ensuring long-term national security and economic resilience.