Phoenix Tailings has opened one of the first rare earth metallization facilities in the USA with zero reliance on Chinese inputs, equipment or technology. Located in Exeter, New Hampshire, initially the plant will produce 200 tons of both light and heavy rare earth metals each year, with the capacity to scale to more than 1,000 tons per year. That capacity would be able to supply the entire U.S. defense industrial base, says the company.
“We are opening this facility at a critical point for the United States. For decades, China has dominated the global rare earth supply chain, which places the autonomy of the United States at risk,” said Nick Myers, co-founder and CEO. “By focusing on the challenge of metallization, our newest facility unlocks the rest of the supply chain in the United States and protects our nation’s freedom. As we continue to expand, we’re committed to working alongside industry partners, government agencies, and the private sector to build a longstanding, American rare earths supply chain from tailings to metal.”
The company specializes in stabilized chemistries and leverages them on each part of the supply chain. With a particular emphasis in this facility on the process of converting oxide to metal – referred to as metallization – Phoenix aims to be well-positioned to support a burgeoning industry of rare earths outside of China.
“Every rare earth mine, recycler, and magnet company needs metallization in the supply chain – but the United States has lacked reliable capacity for decades. This facility brings that capability to market, reliably supplying America and her allies. This development also advances our company towards our ultimate vision of serving the full value chain from tailings to metal,” said Myers.
Phoenix Tailings sells to customers within the U.S. and allied nations in the automotive, defense and medical device sectors. Opened in October, the Exeter facility is one of the largest rare earth metal-making facilities in the Western world. It will initially produce neodymium-praseodymium (NdPr) and dysprosium-iron alloy (DyFe) and expand to include dysprosium (Dy), terbium (Tb), samarium (Sm), yttrium (Yt), gadolinium (Gd), germanium (Ge), gallium (Ga) and other key metals.
In December, Phoenix Tailings was selected to receive $1.6 million in funding from the U.S. Department of Energy Advanced Research Projects Agency-Energy (ARPA-E). The funding is part of the Realize Energy-rich Compound Opportunities Valorizing Extraction from Refuse waters (RECOVER) program, which aims to reduce American dependence on critical mineral imports by establishing new, secure domestic supply chains.
The project is an important step in its work to extract critical materials from non-conventional sources, ultimately supplying feedstock for its commercial metallization operations. As part of the initiative, Phoenix Tailings is developing specialized chemical compounds known as ligands that form temperature-stable, volatile complexes with critical minerals in dilute brine streams. The ligands can selectively capture valuable minerals, such as rare earths and other critical metals, even when they are present at very low concentrations in wastewater from the oil, gas and mining industries.
Headquartered in Woburn, Massachusetts, the company has received support from world-class investors, partners and agencies including IQT, Envisioning Partners, Builders Vision, Yamaha Motor Ventures, BMW, Techstars, and Presidio, the venture arm of Sumitomo Corporation, and several other key investors. It raised about $76 million toward building the New Hampshire facility. See www.phoenixtailings.com.
