<h2>The Announcement That Matters</h2> <p>On July 29, 2026, Energy Fuels Inc. announced that construction has begun on a <strong>$104 million Phase 1B heavy rare earth separation expansion</strong> at its White Mesa Mill in Utah. The facility will produce dysprosium and terbium — the two heavy rare earth elements that are most critical for permanent magnets used in EV motors and wind turbines.</p> <p>This is the first commercial-scale heavy rare earth separation facility in the United States.</p> <h2>Why Dysprosium and Terbium Matter</h2> <p>If you work in automotive procurement and you are not yet tracking dysprosium and terbium, you need to start today.</p> <p>Every high-performance permanent magnet in an EV motor contains neodymium, praseodymium, dysprosium, and terbium. The dysprosium and terbium are what give the magnet its thermal stability — without them, the magnet loses its properties at the temperatures generated inside a motor under load.</p> <p>China currently controls <strong>approximately 90% of global heavy rare earth production and processing</strong>. This is not a new vulnerability. The automotive industry has known about it for over 20 years. The White Mesa expansion is the first serious attempt to address it at commercial scale in the Western Hemisphere.</p> <h2>The Mine-to-Magnet Chain</h2> <p>The White Mesa Mill is not a mine — it is a processing facility. It receives rare earth ore from multiple sources, including monazite from mineral sands operations in the US and internationally. The Phase 1B expansion will add separation capacity to produce separated heavy rare earth oxides that can then be converted into metals and alloys for magnet manufacturing.</p> <p>Combined with MP Materials' magnet manufacturing facility in Fort Worth, Texas (which commenced production in Q4 2025), the US is for the first time building a complete mine-to-magnet supply chain on domestic soil.</p> <h2>What This Means for Automotive Procurement</h2> <p>The White Mesa facility will not be operational at full capacity until 2028. Magnet qualification for automotive applications takes 18-24 months after material availability. So the practical impact on automotive supply chains is a 2029-2030 story.</p> <p>But the strategic signal is important now. For the first time, automotive OEMs and Tier 1 suppliers can begin conversations with a US-based, non-China rare earth supply chain that has a credible path to commercial scale.</p> <p>The procurement teams who start those conversations today — understanding the qualification requirements, the volume commitments needed, the pricing structures — will be the ones who have supply security when the volumes matter.</p> <p>Twenty years of vulnerability. The fix is finally under construction. Are you in the conversation?</p> <p><em>Source: <a href="https://investors.energyfuels.com/2026-07-29-Commercial-Scale-Heavy-Rare-Earth-Plant-Now-Under-Construction-in-Utah" target="blank" rel="noopener">Energy Fuels Investor Relations</a> | <a href="https://www.forbes.com/sites/davidblackmon/2026/08/04/heavy-rare-earth-metals-plant-boosts-us-supply-chain-independence/" target="blank" rel="noopener">Forbes</a></em></p>