Washington has drawn a decisive line in the global race for critical minerals.
Earlier this month, the U.S. Export-Import Bank issued a USD$200 million Letter of Interest to REAlloys Inc., a rare earth company building what could become North America’s first fully integrated mine to magnet supply chain.
REAlloys, which presently merging with Blackboxstocks (NASDAQ: BLBX), plans to oversee every step of the rare earth process on one continent. Mining will occur at Hoidas Lake in Saskatchewan, processing at the Saskatchewan Research Council’s new separation facility in Euclid, Ohio.
For more than twenty years, China has controlled nearly every high value stage of rare earth production.
Its producers supply roughly 70 per cent of mined material, refine about 90 per cent of global output, and manufacture close to 92 per cent of permanent magnets, according to the International Energy Agency.
That dominance gives Beijing leverage over pricing and entire downstream industries, from electric vehicles to missile guidance and satellites.
China’s advantage results from a deliberate state policy. Since the 1990s, the Ministry of Industry and Information Technology has consolidated hundreds of operators under state backed conglomerates. It has also tied export quotas to refining capacity, and built low cost processing hubs in Inner Mongolia and Jiangxi. Today, even U.S.-mined rare earth concentrates are shipped to China for separation before being sold back as finished magnets.
Beijing’s tightening of export rules in 2025 include limits on gallium, germanium, and rare earth processing technology. The rules also demonstrated how strategic that control remains. Materials essential to global electrification have also effectively become instruments of policy. U.S. auditors have reached similar conclusions.
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American rare earths require domestic refining and production
The Government Accountability Office emphasizes that rare earth magnets underpin radar, propulsion, and guidance systems, as well as civilian technologies like electric vehicle motors, wind turbine generators, medical imaging machines, and advanced robotics. Additionally, American mined rare earths contribute little to supply security without processes for refining and production.
REAlloys’ strategy mirrors a modern supply chain more than a conventional mining project. Upstream, its Hoidas Lake project in northern Saskatchewan holds more than two million tonnes of total rare-earth oxides. This deposit anchors a raw material base that the United States once dominated but ceded decades ago.
A few hundred miles south, the Saskatchewan Research Council’s Rare Earth Processing Facility provides the crucial midstream link, where mined concentrates are refined into high-purity oxides and metals. Most Western projects still rely on Chinese processing, making this partnership essential. It turns raw ore into a functional industrial feedstock ready for magnet production.
Downstream, the Euclid, Ohio operation, expanded via the acquisition of PMT Critical Metals, produces samarium cobalt and neodymium iron boron magnets for defense, energy, and advanced manufacturing. Locating production inside the U.S. automotive and aerospace corridor is strategic.
The integration of mine, refinery, and magnet plant highlights the architecture of Washington’s emerging industrial policy. Since 2020, the Department of Defense has allocated more than USD$439 million to domestic mine to magnet development. The USD$200 million letter of interest extends this approach into financing, embedding REAlloys in the federal Supply Chain Resiliency Initiative.
October capped a pivotal month for REAlloys. Weeks after securing EXIM’s backing, the company signed a memorandum of understanding with Japanese state backed metals and energy agency, JOGMEC.
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Permanent magnets remain core bottleneck
Japan’s participation adds both industrial and geopolitical weight. Its corporations lead in precision magnet design and processing efficiency. Embedding Japanese expertise in North America could accelerate REAlloys’ transition from pilot scale to commercial output.
Closer U.S.–Japan coordination, the International Energy Agency notes, is central to reducing exposure to Chinese refining. JOGMEC previously supported Lynas Rare Earths Ltd. (ASX: LYC) (OTCMKTS: LYSDY) in Australia, a non-Chinese producer, providing a model for public-private collaboration. The REAlloys partnership marks JOGMEC’s first formal alliance with a U.S. rare-earth company.
Permanent magnets remain the core bottleneck in electrification. An electric vehicle motor contains roughly one to two kilograms of neodymium iron boron magnets. Meanwhile, an offshore wind turbine can use several tonnes, according to the U.S. Department of Energy. Demand is projected to quadruple by 2040. Few practical alternatives exist; motors using ferrite or induction designs sacrifice efficiency, a compromise most automakers reject.
Several other companies also shape the North American critical resources race. MP Materials Corp. (NYSE: MP) operates Mountain Pass in California, the continent’s only large scale integrated rare-earth mining and processing facility.
MP Materials produces neodymium and praseodymium (NdPr), essential for electric-vehicle motors, wind turbines, and defense magnets. A series of high-profile announcements this year shows its push toward full vertical integration.
Energy Fuels Inc. (NYSE American: UUUU), historically a uranium producer, has also rapidly expanded into rare-earths. Its White Mesa Mill in Utah now processes monazite into intermediate rare-earth carbonates. Furthermore, this domestic pathway reduces reliance on Chinese processing. Recently, Energy Fuels raised capital via convertible senior notes, causing stock volatility around investor concerns about potential equity dilution.
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Department of Energy offers USD$2.2B loan
Lithium Americas Corp. (NYSE: LAC) (TSE: LAC) reinforces North American EV supply chains through its Thacker Pass project in Nevada. Its development reduces dependence on foreign lithium sources for batteries.
The project’s national importance has also attracted non-traditional political and financial backing. A USD$2.23 billion loan from the Department of Energy under the Advanced Technology Vehicles Manufacturing Program and a direct U.S. government equity stake highlight the urgency of domestic lithium security.
NevGold Corp (CVE: NAU) (OTCMKTS: NAUFF) (FRA: 5E50) also plays a growing role in North America’s critical resource landscape.
Based in Nevada, the company explores gold and associated critical minerals like antimony across the state. While smaller than its peers, NevGold’s projects complement rare-earth and battery-metal development, highlighting the diversity of North American supply efforts. Investors and policymakers are increasingly monitoring its progress as the continent strengthens its domestic resource base.
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