The price of rare earth metals has surged in recent weeks as China flexes its muscle in its trade war with US President Donald Trump. China processes more than 95% of these elements, which are critical for modern technologies like electric vehicles, wind turbines and batteries.
“We’re witnessing the consequences of relying on a geopolitical competitor for materials essential to our economy and national defense,” said Nick Myers of Phoenix Tailings, a green mining and metals production company that operates a 40-ton-a-year commercial facility in Massachusetts.
Phoenix has raised $76 million of Series B funding that will go towards building a New Hampshire facility to produce up to 500 tons of rare earth elements annually. That’s close to the entire annual demand of the US defense-industrial base.
Minimizing waste
The new facility is expected to begin production this summer with an output of 200 tons a year, producing metals such as dysprosium and terbium, which are essential for magnets used in EVs, MRI machines and jet engines.
The facility will employ Phoenix Tailings’ rare earth processing technology, which extracts valuable metals from mines, recycled products, coal fly ash and other waste streams without using harmful chemicals and energy-intensive methods.
Myers says the goal is “delivering critical metals without compromising on safety, environmental standards, or cost.”
Supply chain independence
The Series B round includes a fresh $33 million anchored by Escape Velocity, alongside Builders Vision, Yamaha Motor Ventures, MPower, Sumitomo Corp.’s venture arm Presidio and other investors. An initial $43 million close in December was led by Envisioning Partners, a Seoul-based impact venture capital firm. Earlier backers of the company include In-Q-Tel, ARPA-E and BMW.
“Reducing supply chain dependence in rare metals is good sustainable business, particularly when it can be done cheaper and cleaner using better technology,” Envisioning’s Yong Hyun Kim said.
