Phoenix Tailings Wins $500 Million Pentagon Loan as US Pushes to Cut China Mineral Reliance
Updated
Updated · WMUR Manchester · Aug 5
Phoenix Tailings Wins $500 Million Pentagon Loan as US Pushes to Cut China Mineral Reliance
2 articles · Updated · WMUR Manchester · Aug 5
Summary
$500 million in Pentagon financing will help Phoenix Tailings build a larger U.S. refinery, though the new facility will take up to 18 months to come online.
Phoenix extracts rare-earth metals from mining waste, recycled magnets and disk drives, a route the U.S. sees as a faster stopgap while new mines and full supply chains take years to develop.
Defense demand has intensified after the Iran war drew down Tomahawk and THAAD stocks, while Trump's July 20 order bars defense contractors from sourcing critical materials from China.
Phoenix says its Samarium output is about 200 kilograms a year now, should reach 5 tons within three months, and targets 120 tons by next year or 2028.
The loan underscores a broader U.S. scramble to replace Chinese processing dominance, but executives and analysts say minerals such as tungsten and rare earths will still require imports, recycling and allied suppliers for years.
As the Pentagon pours billions into rare earth refineries, what happens to U.S. defense production if these ambitious domestic projects fail to scale?
With a strict 2027 deadline looming, can a startup actually recycle enough e-waste to power America’s next-generation fighter jets?
Breaking China’s Grip: Inside the $500 Million Pentagon Loan to Phoenix Tailings and the Race for Rare Earth Independence
Overview
In response to urgent national security threats and depleted missile stockpiles, the U.S. government passed the 'One Big Beautiful Bill' in 2025, unlocking $100 billion in loans for critical minerals. This enabled the Pentagon to commit $500 million to Phoenix Tailings in 2026, supporting the construction of the Freedom Facility—a new rare earth separation and metallization plant aiming to start operations by 2028. By building large-scale domestic processing, the U.S. seeks to reduce reliance on China, comply with strict new defense sourcing laws, and secure a resilient mine-to-magnet supply chain essential for military readiness.