Exclusive U.S. Army Will Fund Rare Earths Plant For Weapons Development

By
EUGENE
62
3467

Exclusive U.S. Army Will Fund Rare Earths Plant For Weapons Development

The U.S. Army plans to fund construction of rare earths processing facilities, part of an urgent push by Washington to secure domestic supply of the minerals used to make military weapons and electronics, according to a government document seen by Reuters.

The move would mark the first financial investment by the U.S. military into commercial-scale rare earths production since World War Two’s Manhattan Project built the first atomic bomb.

It comes after President Donald Trump earlier this year ordered the military to update its supply chain for the niche materials, warning that reliance on other nations for the strategic minerals could hamper U.S. defenses.

China, which refines most of the world’s rare earths, has threatened to stop exporting the specialized minerals to the United States, using its monopoly as a cudgel in the ongoing trade spat between the world’s two largest economies.

“The U.S. rare earths industry needs big help to compete against the Chinese,” said Jim McKenzie, chief executive officer of UCore Rare Metals Inc (UCU.V), which is developing a rare earths project in Alaska. “It’s not just about the money, but also the optics of broad support from Washington.”

The Army division overseeing munitions last month asked miners for proposals on the cost of a pilot plant to produce so-called heavy rare earths, a less-common type of the specialized minerals that are highly sought after for use in weaponry, according to the document.

Responses are due by Dec. 16. UCore, Texas Mineral Resources Corp (TMRC.PK) and a joint venture between Lynas Corp (LYC.AX) and privately-held Blue Line Corp are among the expected respondents, according to company officials and sources familiar with the matter.

The Army said it will fund up to two-thirds of a refiner’s cost and that it would fund at least one project and potentially more. Applicants must provide a detailed business plan and specify where they will source their ore, among other factors.

This latest move by the Army, a division of the Pentagon, comes after a military study earlier this year on the state of the U.S. rare earths supply chain.

The rare earths tension between the U.S. and China goes back to at least 2010, when China limited exports to Japan after a diplomatic dispute, sending prices for the niche metals spiking and fueling concerns across the U.S. military that China could do the same to the United States.

The U.S. Army Combat Capabilities Development Command Chemical Biological Center and the U.S. Army headquarters did not respond to requests for comment.

The request does not give a specific financial amount the Army could fund, though it is derived in part from the Defense Production Act (DPA), a 1950s-era U.S. law that gives the Pentagon wide financial latitude to procure equipment necessary for the national defense.

A rare earth processing pilot plant could cost between $5 million and $20 million, depending on location, size and other factors, with a full-scale plant potentially costing more than $100 million to build, industry executives said.

“It’s great to see interest in financially supporting the industry from the Department of Defense,” said Jon Blumenthal, CEO of Blue Line Corp, which earlier this year signed a memorandum of understanding to build a rare earth processing facility in Texas with Australia-based Lynas Corp (LYC.AX).

Blumenthal declined to comment when asked if Blue Line will respond to the Army’s request. Lynas declined to comment.

It is not clear how the Army will rank the responses given that much of the rare earths industry expertise is now located in China, though the modern rare earths industry itself had its genesis in the United States decades ago.

No Time to Die

“Instead of providing funds for yet another study, this allocates money toward establishing a U.S.-based rare earth supply chain,” said Anthony Marchese, CEO of Texas Mineral Resources, which is developing the Round Top mine in Texas with USA Rare Earth.

https://www.reuters.com

After processing, however, rare earths need to be turned into rare earth magnets, found in precision-guided missiles, smart bombs and military jets and China controls the rare earths magnet industry, too.

The Pentagon has not yet launched an effort to finance domestic magnet manufacturing.“Closing the magnet gap would do more to address the nation’s defense needs, and as well the needs of electric vehicle makers and others,” said Ryan Castilloux, managing director with Adamas Intelligence, a research firm that closely tracks the rare earths industry.

Exclusive U.S. Army Will Fund Rare Earths Plant For Weapons Development

RELATED ARTICLESMORE FROM AUTHOR

62 COMMENTS

  4. Howdy! I could have sworn I’ve visited this website before but after looking at a few of the posts I realized it’s new to me. Anyhow, I’m certainly happy I discovered it and I’ll be book-marking it and checking back regularly!|

  8. Do you mind if I quote a few of your articles as long as I provide credit and sources back to your site? My website is in the very same area of interest as yours and my users would genuinely benefit from a lot of the information you present here. Please let me know if this ok with you. Thanks!

  16. how much viagra will it take to see the blue haze
    cialis 20mg trusttnstore.com viagra without doctor prescription
    can viagra prevent you from ejackulatting

  18. I have been browsing online more than 3 hours as of late, but I by no means found any interesting article like yours. It’s beautiful price enough for me. Personally, if all website owners and bloggers made excellent content material as you did, the internet shall be much more helpful than ever before.

  20. This design is spectacular! You certainly know how to keep a reader amused. Between your wit and your videos, I was almost moved to start my own blog (well, almost…HaHa!) Great job. I really enjoyed what you had to say, and more than that, how you presented it. Too cool!

  38. I am really inspired together with your writing abilities as smartly as with the format on your weblog. Is this a paid subject matter or did you customize it your self? Either way stay up the excellent high quality writing, it’s uncommon to see a nice blog like this one today..

  39. Hi I am so glad I found your blog, I really found you by accident, while I was researching on Askjeeve for something else, Nonetheless I am here now and would just like to say thanks a lot for a marvelous post and a all round exciting blog (I also love the theme/design), I don’t have time to browse it all at the moment but I have bookmarked it and also added your RSS feeds, so when I have time I will be back to read much more, Please do keep up the fantastic work.|

  40. I’m still learning from you, while I’m trying to achieve my goals. I definitely liked reading all that is posted on your website.Keep the information coming. I loved it!

  45. Its like you read my mind! You seem to know a lot about this, like you wrote the book in it or something. I think that you could do with a few pics to drive the message home a bit, but instead of that, this is magnificent blog. A fantastic read. I will definitely be back.|

  47. Hello there! Do you know if they make any plugins to assist with SEO? I’m trying to get my blog to rank for some targeted keywords but I’m not seeing very good results. If you know of any please share. Cheers!|

  50. That is very interesting, You are an overly professional blogger. I have joined your rss feed and look ahead to in quest of more of your excellent post. Also, I’ve shared your website in my social networks|

  58. Its such as you read my thoughts! You seem to grasp a lot approximately this, like you wrote the book in it or something. I believe that you just could do with a few p.c. to power the message home a little bit, but instead of that, that is excellent blog. An excellent read. I’ll certainly be back.|

  61. Thank you for sharing superb informations. Your site is very cool. I’m impressed by the details that you’ve on this website. It reveals how nicely you understand this subject. Bookmarked this web page, will come back for extra articles. You, my pal, ROCK! I found just the info I already searched everywhere and just could not come across. What a perfect web site.

  62. What’s Happening i’m new to this, I stumbled upon this I’ve discovered It absolutely helpful and it has aided me out loads. I hope to contribute & aid different users like its helped me. Great job.|

LEAVE A REPLY

Please enter your comment!
Please enter your name here