On a quest for US processing of rare earths

Companies like Phoenix Tailings, which recently began producing metal in New Hampshire, are using new processing methods to compete with Chinese suppliers, writes Rebecca F. Elliott from Exeter, New Hampshire

- Rebecca F. Elliott

Ingots of metal at Phoenix Tailings, which aims to eventually control all steps of rare-earth refining.

Every few hours, two furnaces in a New Hampshire office park quietly transform batches of taupe-coloured powder into rough ingots.

These mottled chunks of metal, about the size of a few bricks, ultimately will be used to make electric vehicle motors or maybe a fighter jet.

This is what rare-earth processing looks like in the United States, where university researchers and startups are trying to wrest a slice of this small but vital industry from China.

Rare earths are a family of elements towards the bottom of the periodic table, with tongue-twister names like neodymium and dysprosium. They are used in powerful magnets, lasers, MRI machines and other instruments.

And while they are not actually rare, they are difficult to process into usable forms. China refines more than 90% of the world's rare earths, a level of control that is of growing concern to Western governments and businesses.

The United States was a big player in this industry until the mid-1990s, but China's robust industrial policy, along with looser environmental regulations, allowed companies based there to establish a dominant position and sell metals and magnets for a lot less than suppliers elsewhere. Over time, many rare-earth miners and processors outside China withered away.