Energy Fuels soars on magnet production breakthrough

Shares of Energy Fuels (NYSE-A: UUUU) (TSX: EFR) soared on Tuesday after the company said its U.S. mined and processed rare earth products are qualified for making permanent magnets used in electric vehicles and hybrid electric vehicles.

Energy Fuels surged about 11% to $13.19 in New York, having earlier hit a new 52-week high of $13.46. Its Toronto-traded stock also rose about 11% to C$18.30 for a C$4.1 billion ($3 billion) market capitalization.

South Korea’s POSCO successfully used Energy Fuels’ high-purity neodymium-praseodymium (NdPr) oxides for the manufacturing of rare earth permanent magnets, the Lakewood, Colorado-based company said Tuesday. Energy Fuels said the 1.2 metric tonnes of NdPr oxide it supplied POSCO were processed into about 3 metric tonnes of magnets, enough to power about 1,500 new vehicles.

POSCO, a global leader in the manufacturing of traction motor cores used in EVs and hybrids, signed a memorandum of understanding with Energy Fuels in March to process NdPr oxides into metal, alloy and finished magnets to qualify for use in traction motor cores.

Quality control

The NdPr oxides have passed all quality assurance and quality control (QA/QC) benchmarks for EV drive unit motors sold to major automotive manufacturers across North America, the EU, Japan and Korea, Energy Fuels also said. Drive units powered by Energy Fuels’ NdPr oxides are expected to be installed in new vehicles and be available in the marketplace within the next few months, the company added.

“We are excited to announce that rare earth oxides mined, processed and produced in America are expected to be powering EVs and hybrids for sale around the world very soon, representing a major achievement in restoring domestic critical mineral supply chains,” said Energy Fuels CEO Mark Chalmers.

“Commercial validation of our rare earth oxides at scale is a significant triumph for Energy Fuels, proving we have the capacity and expertise to produce rare earth materials that meet both commercial and defense requirements, at scale and to appropriate purity and performance specifications,” he added.

With the successful validation, the companies now plan to discuss a potential longer-term supply arrangement that may include commercial-scale REE metallization, alloying and magnet production initiatives.

US-produced rare earths

The successful production of rare earth permanent magnets from Energy Fuels’ NdPr oxides marks a decisive breakthrough in building a “mine-to-magnet” supply chain independent of China, the company said, emphasizing that its products are strictly produced in the U.S.

The NdPr oxides are produced at Energy Fuels’ White Mesa mill in Utah, the country’s only licensed uranium mill, with the added capability to produce other critical minerals such as rare earth elements. The rare earths are derived from monazite concentrates supplied by heavy mineral sands operations in Florida and Georgia.

Besides producing neodymium and praseodymium, which are considered “light” rare earths, the White Mesa mill is piloting the production of the more in-demand “heavy” rare earths, starting with dysprosium — also a key ingredient in permanent magnets. First production of high-purity dysprosium oxide was achieved last month.

“We plan to construct ‘heavy’ rare earth oxide capacity in 2026 at our White Mesa mill in Utah, thereby ‘closing the loop’ on this important non-China supply chain,” Chalmers said.