prodchem
Sep 9, 2026
Energy Fuels has begun construction on a $104 million expansion at its White Mesa Mill in Utah, adding commercial-scale production of heavy rare earth oxides including terbium and dysprosium. The buildout, which started in late July 2026, targets exactly the materials category where the United States remains almost entirely dependent on Chinese processing capacity.
White Mesa already holds a distinction worth noting on its own. It is the only facility in the United States with existing commercial capacity to process monazite, the mineral feedstock that many heavy rare earth supply chains rely on. This expansion builds directly on that existing infrastructure rather than starting from scratch.
What Is Actually Being Added
The expansion adds separation circuits for five specific heavy rare earth elements, plus a new processing circuit for a broader category of feedstock.
New commercial-scale circuits will separate terbium, dysprosium, samarium, europium and gadolinium oxides.
A mixed rare-earth carbonate, or MREC, processing circuit will let the mill handle additional globally sourced feedstocks rich in heavy rare earth content.
This sits on top of White Mesa's existing commercial capability to produce up to 1,000 tonnes per year of separated neodymium-praseodymium, or NdPr, oxide.
Construction is proceeding in two stages. The terbium and dysprosium circuits are targeted for completion by the fourth quarter of 2027, with the samarium, europium and gadolinium circuits following by late 2028.
Why Terbium and Dysprosium Specifically
Terbium and dysprosium are not chosen arbitrarily. Both elements are added to neodymium-iron-boron magnets in small quantities to improve resistance to demagnetization at high temperatures, a property essential for magnets used in electric motors, wind turbines and defense applications.
Planned first-phase capacity targets roughly 20 tonnes per year of terbium and 120 tonnes per year of dysprosium.
Samarium capacity is planned at up to 140 tonnes per year, with europium and gadolinium each targeted around 20 to 140 tonnes.
These volumes are modest by global commodity standards, but heavy rare earth markets are thin enough that even this scale represents a meaningful new non-Chinese supply source.
Part of a Larger Mine-to-Magnet Strategy
The White Mesa expansion is one piece of a broader vertical integration push at Energy Fuels. The company has described this project as one of the final steps toward an integrated mine-to-magnet platform, spanning mining, separation, metal and alloy production, and eventually finished magnet manufacturing.
Energy Fuels has pending acquisitions of Australian Strategic Materials and Vacuumschmelze, a German magnet and advanced materials producer, in a deal reported at roughly $1.9 billion in equity value.
The new MREC circuit specifically expands the range of global feedstocks White Mesa can process, reducing the company's dependence on any single mineral source.
The mill's ability to process rare earth oxides and uranium simultaneously at commercial scale is a structural advantage that supports the facility's underlying economics.
Momentum Building Since Early 2026
This expansion did not appear out of nowhere. In March 2026, Energy Fuels successfully recovered its first kilogram of terbium oxide at White Mesa through a pilot project, the company's first-ever production of a heavy rare earth element. That pilot success appears to have directly informed the decision to commit capital toward commercial-scale construction just four months later.
Why This Matters for US Supply Chain Buyers
Heavy rare earth oxides sit at a genuine chokepoint in critical minerals supply chains. China currently dominates global separation and refining capacity for these elements, even in cases where mining occurs elsewhere. A commercial-scale US alternative changes the sourcing calculus for buyers who have faced limited non-Chinese options.
Automotive, robotics and data center manufacturers relying on high-performance magnets gain a domestic sourcing option that does not yet exist at commercial scale in the United States.
Defense-sector buyers subject to sourcing restrictions on Chinese-origin critical materials have a direct interest in White Mesa's timeline, given the facility's stated defense application focus.
The two-stage construction schedule means buyers should not expect meaningful terbium and dysprosium volumes before late 2027 at the earliest, making this a medium-term supply solution rather than an immediate one.
What Buyers Should Do Now
For companies planning magnet or rare earth oxide procurement strategies into 2027 and 2028, White Mesa's expansion is worth tracking closely given how few alternative Western heavy rare earth separation projects are this far along in construction. Buyers should also watch how Energy Fuels' pending ASM and Vacuumschmelze acquisitions progress, since a completed mine-to-magnet integration would extend the company's relevance beyond raw oxide supply into finished magnet manufacturing, a step that could reshape sourcing options for end users currently buying finished magnets from Asian suppliers.
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Energy Fuels is investing $104 million to expand heavy rare earth oxide production in Utah. The project shows how targeted processing capacity fits into the much larger US push to secure domestic critical mineral supply chains.
