US rare earths flow to Asia as domestic demand is slow to emerge

# US rare earths flow to Asia as domestic demand is slow to emerge Source: [https://arstechnica.com/science/2026/07/us-rare-earths-flow-to-asia-as-domestic-demand-is-slow-to-emerge/](https://arstechnica.com/science/2026/07/us-rare-earths-flow-to-asia-as-domestic-demand-is-slow-to-emerge/) Some material also goes to an unnamed US technology and industrial company, under a deal penned in the first quarter of 2026\. In the same quarter a year ago, the largest portion of MP’s sales by revenue—mined material, not NdPr—went to China’s Shenghe Resources\. But MP has stopped selling to Shenghe as part of its deal with the US government\. MP ultimately plans to produce its own magnets at scale, which would require it to consume much of what it produces\. Mined rare earths are turned into oxides, which are used to make metals and alloys that go into magnets\. The company has penned agreements with General Motors and Apple to supply them with its magnets\. It said in May that it expected to begin shipping finished magnets to GM this year\. Meanwhile, Energy Fuels—which won $725 million in conditional government funding in June—plans to scale its production of rare earths and also has eyes on Asia\. “We will be sending oxides in the near\-term to Korea,” said chief executive Ross Bhappu\. Last year, a major South Korean manufacturer made a small amount of Energy Fuels’ NdPr into magnets\. Energy Fuels is in the process of acquiring Australian Strategic Materials, which owns a rare earths metal\-making plant in South Korea\. It also announced a $1\.9 billion deal to buy German magnet maker Vacuumschmelze \(VAC\) in June, which Bhappu said would result in more of Energy Fuels’ products going to VAC’s US operations\. China is the largest global producer of the widely used neodymium iron boron magnets\. Outside China, Japan produces 10,000\-15,000 tonnes per year, while South Korea produces 2,000\-3,000 tonnes annually, and the US produces 1,000 tonnes or less, according to John Ormerod, a rare earths consultant at JOC LLC\. There is also some production in Europe\. Phoenix, which secured a conditional $500 million from Washington in June, said government funding would help it scale up metal and oxide production, which would “expand the pie for everyone\.” MP’s recent earnings have been boosted by the money it receives under its US government deal—which guarantees a minimum sale price for some products and tops up any shortfall from the price paid by third parties\. *[© 2025 The Financial Times Ltd](https://www.ft.com/)\.[All rights reserved](https://www.ft.com/)\. Not to be redistributed, copied, or modified in any way\.*