Materials/Manufacturing

Vulcan Elements Opens Pilot Plant for Producing Rare Earth Magnets; Consarc Strip-Casting Furnace Installed 

Bolstered by a $1.2 million award from the U.S. Department of Defense and now with the commissioning of a new strip casting furnace from Consarc, Vulcan Elements is building up operations at its new pilot magnet manufacturing plant in North Carolina. A key objective is to develop fresh alternatives for a secure, domestic supply chain for magnets used in critical Air Force systems. […]

e-Power Technology

Conifer Raises $20M to Commercialize Magnet-Agnostic Motors & e-Powertrains 

Conifer, a Silicon Valley startup, has secured $20 million in seed funding to commercialize its magnet-agnostic electric motors and powertrains that are coupled with a software-driven manufacturing approach. Founded by repeat entrepreneurs and ex-Apple Special Projects Group and Lucid engineers, the company has spent the last two years developing and validating its technology with customers. It announced the successful funding in April. […]

Materials/Manufacturing

Aclara Resources Inaugurates Rare Earths Processing Plant in Brazil 

Aclara Resources has inaugurated its Carina Project heavy rare earths pilot plant in Aparecida de Goiania, Goias, Brazil. In concert with the company’s dedicated outreach to community and government, the ceremony was attended by key government authorities from the State of Goias, the Municipality of Nova Roma, and representatives from federal agencies and international embassies, along with other stakeholders.   […]

Materials/Manufacturing

MP Materials Signs Up to Help Build Rare Earth Mines-to-Magnets Supply Chain in Saudi Arabia; Also Accelerates Its Non-China Strategy 

5/14/2025 – RIYADH, Saudi Arabia– Saudi Arabian Mining Company (Maaden) and MP Materials jointly announced today they have agreed to explore opportunities to jointly develop a vertically integrated rare earth supply chain in Saudi Arabia including […]

Materials/Manufacturing

Mistrial Declared in Federal Case Against Quadrant Magnetics 

More than two years after the federal government charged Quadrant Magnetics related to sharing product design information with affiliate contacts in China, a mistrial has been declared at the U.S. District Court in Louisville, Kentucky in the government’s case against the company. According to a report in the Louisville Courier Journal on March 19, it’s the latest twist in the high-profile case centered around confidential U.S. military data allegedly sent to China by company officials. The case is now in limbo, prosecutors could retry it, with a jury trial tentatively set to begin in late May.   […]

Materials/Manufacturing

Cyclic Materials to Invest Over $20M in its First Magnet Recycling Plant in U.S. 

April 23, 205 – Cyclic Materials, the advanced recycling company creating a circular supply chain for rare earth elements (REEs) and other critical materials, today announced it has invested over $20 million in its first commercial facility, located in Mesa, Arizona. The new state-of-the-art facility will be the company’s first global rare earth element recycling operation focused on the separation of permanent magnets from end-of-life products previously not recovered, using its proprietary MagCycle process. […]