Energy Fuels rare earth production started in Utah, and a conditional 725 million dollar government loan aims to grow it

Energy Fuels rare earth production closes a gap in magnet supply

Energy Fuels rare earth production matters because terbium and dysprosium, 2 heavy rare earth metals used inside the magnets that spin electric motors and guide defense hardware, have had no primary United States source in decades.

Heavy rare earth production is a severe pinch point in North American and European permanent magnet supply chains.

Ross Bhappu, president and chief executive officer of Energy Fuels. Source 3.

On March 25, 2026, White Mesa Mill in Utah, the only conventional uranium mill still running in the United States, produced 1 kilogram of terbium oxide at 99.9% purity from mined ore, the first primary heavy rare earth production in the country in decades, plus nearly 30 kilograms of dysprosium oxide at the same purity.

This success proves we can process and produce high purity heavy rare earth oxides economically and at scale in the U.S.

Mark Chalmers, chief executive officer of Energy Fuels at the time of the March 2026 announcement. Source 1.

The mill runs the process now at a pilot rate of about 1 kilogram of terbium a week, using monazite ore, a mineral that carries rare earths, sourced from Florida and Georgia. Energy Fuels targets a full commercial rate by 2027, up to 35 tonnes a year of dysprosium oxide, 12 tonnes a year of terbium oxide, and 850 to 1,000 tonnes a year of neodymium praseodymium oxide, the rare earth pair used inside most permanent magnets.

A commercial plant is now under construction in Utah

Energy Fuels started building a second processing plant at White Mesa Mill in July 2026, costing 104 million dollars, meant to turn the pilot into commercial volume. It targets about 120 tonnes a year of dysprosium, 140 tonnes a year each of samarium and gadolinium, and 20 tonnes a year each of terbium and europium. The terbium and dysprosium lines finish by the end of 2027, the rest by the end of 2028.

A second, larger expansion still needs approval

A bigger expansion is still in feasibility, not yet under construction. A bankable feasibility study from Energy Fuels, an engineering and financial study with a stated method, prices this second phase at 410 million dollars. At peak it targets 6,000 tonnes a year of neodymium praseodymium oxide, plus 240 tonnes a year of dysprosium and 66 tonnes a year of terbium. Averaged across 40 years of planned operation, the study puts output lower, 5,513 tonnes of neodymium praseodymium, 165 tonnes of dysprosium and 48 tonnes of terbium a year.

That second phase costs about 4 times as much to build as the 104 million dollar plant already under construction, a comparison this article calculates from the 2 figures the company has announced this year. Energy Fuels expects regulatory approval by mid 2027, with construction and startup targeted for the first quarter of 2029.

A conditional government loan

The Department of War, through its Office of Strategic Capital, committed to loan Energy Fuels 725 million dollars over 20 years, announced June 18, 2026, to help fund expansion at White Mesa Mill and a planned rare earth metals and alloy facility elsewhere in the United States. The loan remains conditional, subject to due diligence and closing conditions, and this account comes from the company itself, not an independent confirmation of the transaction.

This important financing support from key investors aligns with Energy Fuels objective to be a vital player in the rare earths supply chain.

Ross Bhappu, president and chief executive officer of Energy Fuels. Source 2.