U.S. Rare Earth Magnet Supply Chain: August 2026 in Review
- Alisa Peters
- 11 minutes ago
- 3 min read
The past month brought a steady stream of concrete developments across the U.S. rare earth magnet supply chain: earnings results, new financing, permitting milestones, and one notable correction to a long-standing production figure.
Production and earnings
MP Materials reported second-quarter 2026 NdPr oxide production of 840 metric tons, up 41% year-over-year, with revenue of $108.5 million, an 89% increase from the same period last year. The results follow a record 917 MT of NdPr oxide in the first quarter.
USA Rare Earth's Stillwater, Oklahoma facility, commercial since March 2026, is targeting a 600 metric-ton-per-year production run-rate by the fourth quarter, according to the company's second-quarter earnings release. USA Rare Earth also announced a leadership change: Thras Moraitis becomes CEO effective October 1, 2026.
Energy Fuels reported second-quarter revenue of $25.1 million and began construction on its White Mesa Mill heavy rare earth plant on July 29, 2026. Shareholders of Australian Strategic Materials (ASM) approved Energy Fuels' acquisition of the company on August 12, 2026, with the deal expected to close August 28, 2026.
New financing
Niron Magnetics secured $300 million in new financing in August: a $150 million conditional loan from the Department of War's Office of Strategic Capital, and a $150 million loan from the Shakopee Mdewakanton Sioux Community. The company's Sartell, Minnesota facility broke ground in September 2025, with operations targeted for early 2027.
REalloys reported $122.4 million in cash as of the second quarter and disclosed it has been selected for exclusive negotiations over a heavy rare earth element lease at the Tooele Army Depot in Utah, with a target close in September 2026. The company also announced a fully funded upgrade to its Saskatchewan facility, targeting roughly 525 metric tons of NdPr metal plus 30 tons of dysprosium oxide and 15 tons of terbium oxide annually by the third quarter of 2027, and a new Heavy REE Metallization Facility targeting about 50 combined tons of dysprosium and terbium oxide by the first quarter of 2028.
Permitting and infrastructure
ReElement Technologies commissioned its first commercial-scale germanium chromatography column at its Marion, Indiana facility on August 7, 2026. On August 19, ReElement secured a single Minor Source air permit covering four planned processing lines for germanium, gallium, and rare earth elements at the shared Marion campus, where American Resources Corporation's Electrified Materials subsidiary also operates, feeding ReElement pre-processed material for separation. Electrified Materials separately closed a $9.5 million Series A preferred stock placement in July.
A correction: Phoenix Tailings' production capacity
A Fortune investigative report published August 3, 2026 prompted a closer look at a figure long associated with Phoenix Tailings: roughly 200 metric tons per year of rare earth metal production capacity at its Exeter, New Hampshire facility. That figure traces to the company's own October 2025 launch materials, which described it as an initial production target rather than an achieved capacity. Fortune's reporting puts the facility's actual current output at approximately 200 kilograms per year, a gap of three orders of magnitude from the original target. The company is financing a scale-up through a $500 million Department of War loan (the Freedom Facility), with a reported 14- to 18-month build timeline, an interim goal of 5 tons within three months of the article's publication, and a 2027-2028 target of 120 tons.
Policy backdrop
Executive Order 14415, signed July 20, 2026, tightens domestic-sourcing requirements for defense contractors: starting January 1, 2027, the Department of War will stop routinely granting non-availability waivers that currently let contractors source certain critical materials from abroad (10 U.S.C. § 4872). It's a policy tailwind for domestic suppliers across the sector, even as several companies remain early in their production ramp.
Workforce
Noveon Magnetics announced a partnership with DeepHow on August 11, 2026, using the company's AI-driven video training platform to help close the skilled-labor gap at its San Marcos, Texas facility, a workforce initiative rather than a production or financing update.
Track production volumes and supply chain stage for these companies and more, along with how the U.S. and its allies compares to China on our U.S. Domestic Rare Earth Magnet Production dashboard. Have feedback, corrections, or a facility update to report? Reach out to our team at QT Magnetic Solutions.
