North America has plenty of rare earth minerals, including neodymium and praseodymium, which are critical to electric vehicle (EV) mobility. Australia-based American Rare Earths Inc. said in early 2024, for example, that it found 2.34 billion metric tons in southeastern Wyoming, 64% more than it thought was there in 2023.
Huge deposits of critical minerals are being mined at Mountain Pass, California, and Tamarack, Minnesota, among other locations. But relatively little processing of minerals critical to powering EVs, appliances, solar panels, defense systems and many other products is done in the U.S. Most of that happens in China. That’s starting to change.
Both the public and private sectors are working to build out the rare earth minerals supply chain domestically. In October 2023, the U.S. Department of Commerce’s Economic Development Administration (EDA) designated 31 Tech Hubs to serve as centers of innovation and economic development around key technologies that can boost U.S. competitiveness. Two are dedicated to strengthening the domestic critical minerals supply chain.
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The Nevada Lithium Batteries and Other EV Materials Loop is led by the University of Nevada, Reno. Its aim, according to the EDA, is “to build a self-sustaining and globally competitive full lithium lifecycle cluster, spanning extraction, processing, manufacturing and recycling. The Critical Minerals and Materials for Advanced Energy (CM2AE) Tech Hub, led by the University of Missouri System, “aims to position south-central Missouri as a global leader in critical minerals processing to provide the materials needed to support battery technology,” just as the region, known for its lead and other mines, did for generations with legacy battery technology.
Uncle Sam Puts Some Skin in the Game
In February 2022, the U.S. Department of Defense (DoD) Industrial Base Analysis and Sustainment Program awarded MP Materials Corp. a $35 million contract to support construction of a commercial scale processing facility for heavy rare earth elements (HREEs) at its Rare Earth Mine in Mountain Pass, California. HREEs are necessary for, among other things, permanent magnets used in EVs, wind turbines and defense systems.
“The ability to mine, process, and refine rare earths at Mountain Pass is foundational to a national effort to secure the U.S. rare earth supply chain,” said MP Materials Chairman and CEO James Litinsky in a statement.
Rare earths mined at Mountain Pass also will supply MP Materials’ new magnet manufacturing facility in Fort Worth, Texas. Construction began in April 2022 on the project, which is a key part of the company’s $700 million investment to keep the rare earth magnetics supply chain in the U.S. The facility will supply alloy and magnets for General Motors’ EV programs.
In April, the company received a $58.5 million Section 48C Advanced Energy Project tax credit allocation award issued by the IRS and Treasury to facilitate construction of the facility.
“The new MP Materials magnetics facility in Fort Worth, Texas, will play a key role in GM’s journey to build a secure, scalable, and sustainable EV supply chain,” said GM Global Purchasing & Supply Chain Executive Director Anirvan Coomer in a release. “As the foundational automotive customer of the Fort Worth facility, GM will use the products from this plant in the GMC HUMMER EV, Cadillac LYRIQ, Chevrolet Silverado EV and more than a dozen models based on GM’s Ultium platform. We also look forward to collaborating with MP Materials from a public policy perspective to seek policies that are supportive of the establishment of an efficient U.S.-based rare earth and magnet supply chain.”
