Commercial-Scale 'Heavy' Rare Earth Plant Now Under Construction in Utah

Energy Fuels Inc. (NYSE American: UUUU) (TSX: EFR), a leading U.S.-based critical materials company, announced that construction has begun on an expansion of its White Mesa Mill in Utah (Mill) to enable the large-scale production of heavy rare earth oxides, which are planned to be used by Energy Fuels to produce rare earth metals, alloys and magnets essential to the automotive, robotics, data center, energy and defense industries. The expansion of the Company's existing light-rare earth oxide production capacity to also produce heavy-rare earth oxides is a critical step in the execution of Energy Fuels' integrated mine-to-magnet program.

"Heavy rare earth production is a severe pinch point in North American and European permanent magnet supply chains," said Ross Bhappu, President and Chief Executive Officer of Energy Fuels. "Given our ongoing success in piloting heavy rare earth oxides, we are now ready to advance to commercial-scale production. This is an exciting moment for Energy Fuels as we continue to build a fully integrated Western mine-to-magnet rare earth platform with proven commercial expertise at each step of the supply chain. The production of both light and heavy rare earth oxides is a key differentiator of Energy Fuels' strategy to build an integrated rare earth supply chain that is expected to be completed upon the anticipated closing of our pending acquisitions of Australian Strategic Materials (ASM) and Vacuumschmelze (VAC)1."

The Mill has the current commercial capacity to produce up to 1,000 tonnes per annum (tpa) of separated NdPr oxide. The planned expansion is designed to add the capacity to produce up to approximately 20 tpa of terbium (Tb), 120 tpa of dysprosium (Dy), 140 tpa of samarium (Sm), 20 tpa of europium (Eu), and 140 tpa of gadolinium (Gd) oxides, along with other rare earth elements2: Tb and Dy are heavy rare earths added to most high-end rare earth permanent magnets (REPMs) to increase resistance to demagnetization (coercivity) and high-temperature performance, and to enable smaller, lighter, more powerful, and more efficient electric motors.

The planned expansion is expected to be completed by the end of 2027, with respect to the addition of the Tb and Dy circuits and by the end of 2028 with respect to the addition of the Sm, Eu and Gd circuits.3

The White Mesa Mill's heavy rare earth expansion is sized and timed to process the anticipated near-term monazite output from the Company's Donald Project joint venture in Australia. Subject to a positive final investment decision (anticipated in Q3 2026)4, Donald is expected to produce approximately 8,500 to 9,500 tonnes of monazite concentrate annually beginning in 2028. This volume, along with additional third-party feedstock currently under contract and in discussion, is expected to fully utilize the Mill's current NdPr oxide capacity, and planned Tb and Dy oxide capacity, which is expected to be commissioned in Q4 2027. In turn, these rare earth oxides are expected to supply roughly 70% of the feedstock required for ASM's existing and planned metal and alloy capacity in South Korea, which itself is expected to supply sufficient magnet alloy to supply over 100% of the 2,000 tonnes of magnet capacity at VAC's magnet manufacturing facility in Sumter, South Carolina – the largest REPM facility in the United States.5 

The planned expansion is also expected to include a circuit for the processing of mixed rare earth carbonates (MREC) to enable Energy Fuels to process additional types of feedstocks produced globally that are rich in heavy rare earth oxides. Importantly, the new MREC circuit will enable the Mill to produce rare earth oxides and uranium simultaneously at commercial scale.

This expansion project is estimated to have a total capital expenditure of approximately $104 million, which is expected to be supported in large part through various government grants and loans. The debt component for the heavy rare earth expansion is planned to be covered by a previously announced conditional loan commitment from the U.S. government. The equity component will be covered out of the Company's working capital, which totaled approximately $0.96 billion as of March 31, 2026. The Company has also applied for grant funding from other U.S. government agencies.

Energy Fuels plans to further expand the Mill in 2029 to increase overall capacity to 6,294 tpa NdPr, 80 tpa Tb, and 288 tpa Dy oxides. This second expansion is expected to process monazite supplied largely by the Company's current and development projects, including all phases of the Donald Project in Australia, the Vara Mada Project in Madagascar, and the Bahia Project in Brazil, along with third-party monazite concentrates and MRECs. The oxides produced at the Mill from these sources will support more than 100% of the expected internal demand of the planned expansion of ASM's metal and alloy facility in South Korea and its planned new facility in the U.S. This in turn will produce sufficient magnet alloy to supply more than 100% of the internal demand for VAC's planned U.S. and European magnet manufacturing expansions, resulting in a total integrated mine-to-magnet supply chain capable of producing 15,700 tonnes of REPMs per year in the coming years5. These volumes of magnets are sufficient to supply up to six million electric/hybrid electric vehicles per year, four million humanoid robots per year, 31 million internal combustion engine vehicles per year, 3,140 offshore wind turbines per year, or 7.8 million iPhones per year.6

Energy Fuels | http://www.energyfuels.com