Rare Element Resources Advances Pr-Nd Oxide Plant, Targets Full Operation by Late 2026

【SMM Rare Earth Flash】 U.S. rare earth magnet manufacturer Vulcan Elements announced it has passed the U.S. Army's competitive selection to supply high-performance NdFeB magnets for the Army's SkyFoundry drone program. The program aims to produce 1 million small drones annually at Tobyhanna Army Depot, Pennsylvania, requiring a "fully domestic, vertically integrated manufacturing process." Vulcan claims to be the only rare earth magnet company globally fully decoupled from China across materials, technology, software, IP, and ownership. Its Benson, North Carolina plant under construction will have 10,000 t/y magnet capacity, becoming the largest rare earth magnet plant outside China and creating about 1,000 manufacturing jobs. This is Vulcan's 10th U.S. Department of War contract.

[SMM Recycled Rare Earth Weekly Review: Scrap Pr-Nd Moves Sideways, Pre-Holiday Stockpiling Rises Then Falls] Overall, scrap Pr-Nd prices held steady this week. Early in the week, trading was briefly active as suppliers cashed out ahead of the holiday, but as recycling enterprises wound down stockpiling and procurement slowed, transactions turned quiet in the second half of the week, with actual market activity rising first and then falling. In the short term, downstream demand is expected to see limited release amid holiday disruptions, and scrap Pr-Nd prices are likely to consolidate sideways.