U.S. Rare Earth Magnet Supply Chain: October 2026 in Review
October exposed a customer dispute at a new South Carolina magnet plant, put a higher price tag and a later date on a Louisiana separation project, and added new sites and incentives in New York and Utah.
A Customer Dispute at Sumter
In an October 13 filing, Energy Fuels disclosed that e-VAC Magnetics, Vacuumschmelze's U.S. subsidiary in Sumter, South Carolina, is in arbitration with an unnamed customer over a supply agreement. The customer gave notice of termination on July 1, and e-VAC began arbitration on July 7 to contest it. Reuters reported on October 23 that the customer is General Motors; GM and Energy Fuels declined to comment. The filing also says Sumter can make 2,000 tonnes of magnets a year and could scale to 12,000 only if third-party offtake contracts are secured. Energy Fuels amended its Vacuumschmelze purchase agreement to adjust the price for the dispute's outcome, and its November 4 results say it expects the deal to close in early 2027.
Aclara Raises the Cost and Moves the Date
Aclara completed basic engineering on October 13 for Project Dynamo, its planned heavy rare earth separation plant in Port of Vinton, Louisiana. Capital cost is now about $494 million, up from a $277 million early estimate. Site preparation is targeted for the first quarter of 2027 and construction completion for the second half of 2028, both subject to financing. The scope also grew to include yttrium, gadolinium and samarium. Counting only magnet-relevant oxides, company estimates come to about 1,725 tonnes a year: roughly 1,300 NdPr, 200 dysprosium, 35 terbium and 190 samarium. EXIM's letter of interest for up to $750 million is non-binding, a formal application has not been submitted, and no offtake agreements have been announced.
New Sites in New York and Utah
Phoenix Tailings chose Rochester, New York for Freedom Separation, part of a Freedom Project it now sizes at more than $1.2 billion. The company targets more than 4,400 tons a year of separated oxides at full operation, with ramp-up in 2027 and full production in 2028. On November 5 it said New York State incentives are estimated at $54.2 million, subject to approvals. In Utah, REalloys signed a non-binding term sheet with the Army for about 200 acres at Tooele Army Depot to process dysprosium and terbium. A definitive lease still depends on environmental review, financing and Army approvals.
Financing, Leadership and Build-Out
ReElement Technologies announced a $46 million New Markets Tax Credit allocation for phase-one refining equipment at its Marion, Indiana site, which the company says avoids issuing new equity. Thras Moraitis became CEO of USA Rare Earth on October 1, succeeding Barbara Humpton. Ucore added a project manager and a construction manager for its Louisiana plant and restated a first-half 2027 target for its first 600-tonne line.
Dates to Watch
USA Rare Earth reports third-quarter results on November 9. American Resources has until November 16 to file overdue quarterly reports and regain Nasdaq compliance. Lynas, whose CEO search is in its tenth month, is expected to name a new CEO before its November 25 annual meeting.
Track these companies and more, including production volumes, supply chain stage, and how the U.S. compares to China and its allies, on our interactive dashboard at dashboard.qtmagneticsolutions.com. Spotted a correction or a facility update? Contact us.
