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U.S. Army selects REalloys facility to process rare earths at Tooele
The project targets dysprosium and terbium for magnets used in weapons, radar, sonar, and electric motors, as China dominates key separation, refining, and magnet production.
OilPrice reports the U.S. Army has selected REalloys to build a facility at Utah’s Tooele Army Depot to process dysprosium and terbium, rare earths used in high-performance magnets.
The outlet says the materials support magnets in defense applications including weapons, radar, sonar, and electric motors.
OilPrice also links the move to national security concerns about industrial capacity, noting China controlled about 91% of global separation and refining for magnet rare earths as of 2024, and produced roughly 94% of the world’s rare-earth permanent magnets, according to the International Energy Agency.
In a statement, Dr. Jeff Waksman, Principal Deputy Assistant Secretary of the Army for Installations, Energy and Environment, said processing critical minerals on U.S. soil is a national-defense priority and that the Army will use legal authorities and land to support a domestic critical-minerals industrial base without putting taxpayer dollars at risk.