Chain

Separation and Refining

Cracking, leaching, and solvent-extraction separation turn concentrates into individual rare earth oxides — the stage where China's dominance is most complete and where U.S. and allied policy has concentrated since 2019. Light separation (NdPr) is being rebuilt at Mountain Pass, White Mesa, and allied plants; heavy separation (Dy, Tb) remains the tightest constraint.

Facts on this page last re-verified Aug 11, 2026 — the oldest verification date among its current claims. How we verify.

Stage diagram

Heavy rare earth separation is the chain's tightest chokepoint: Dy and Tb command triple-digit prices per kilogram, were the explicit subject of the 2019 defense determinations, and sit at the center of China's April 2025 export controls. Every operating and planned Western heavy-separation line is tracked on the facility pages feeding this stage.

Materials at this stage: Bastnaesite Concentrate, Monazite Concentrate, Mixed Rare Earth Carbonate, NdPr Oxide, Dysprosium and Terbium Oxides

Facility-line flow trace

Facility / line	Location	Stage and derived state	Input → output
Energy Fuels White Mesa Mill Phase 1 monazite-to-NdPr oxide separation circuit	Blanding, Utah United States	Separation Operating	Monazite Concentrate → NdPr Oxide
Energy Fuels White Mesa Mill Heavy rare earth (Tb/Dy oxide) expansion	Blanding, Utah United States	Separation Under construction	Monazite Concentrate → Dysprosium and Terbium Oxides
Lynas USA Seadrift Rare Earths Processing Facility Light rare earth separation (planned)	Seadrift, Texas United States	Separation Financed	Mixed Rare Earth Carbonate → NdPr Oxide
Lynas USA Seadrift Rare Earths Processing Facility Heavy rare earth separation (planned)	Seadrift, Texas United States	Separation Financed	Mixed Rare Earth Carbonate → Dysprosium and Terbium Oxides
MP Materials Independence Facility NdPr metal and NdFeB alloy production	Fort Worth, Texas United States	Metals & alloys Operating	NdPr Oxide → NdPr Metal, NdFeB Alloy
MP Materials Mountain Pass Mining and concentration	Mountain Pass, California United States	Mining & feedstock Operating	Rare Earth Ore → Bastnaesite Concentrate
MP Materials Mountain Pass Rare earth separation (light and heavy circuits)	Mountain Pass, California United States	Separation Operating	Bastnaesite Concentrate → NdPr Oxide
NioCorp Elk Creek Mine and processing plant (planned)	Elk Creek, Nebraska United States	Mining & feedstock Announced	Rare Earth Ore → NdPr Oxide
Phoenix Tailings Exeter metallization facility Rare earth metallization (oxide to metal)	Exeter, New Hampshire United States	Metals & alloys Operating	NdPr Oxide, Dysprosium and Terbium Oxides → NdPr Metal
Rare Element Resources Upton Demonstration Plant Rare earth processing and separation demonstration line	Upton, Wyoming United States	Separation Commissioned	Rare Earth Ore → NdPr Oxide
REalloys Tooele Army Depot heavy rare earth facility Dysprosium and terbium refining	Tooele, Utah United States	Separation Announced	Dysprosium and Terbium Oxides → Dysprosium and Terbium Oxides
REEcycle Houston Recycling Facility E-waste NdFeB magnet rare earth recovery	Houston, Texas United States	Recycling Financed	Magnet Scrap and End-of-Life Feedstock → NdPr Oxide, Dysprosium and Terbium Oxides
ReElement Technologies Marion Refining Campus Rare earth elements recycled-feedstocks line	Marion, Indiana United States	Recycling Under construction	Magnet Scrap and End-of-Life Feedstock → NdPr Oxide, Dysprosium and Terbium Oxides
ReElement Technologies Marion Refining Campus Rare earth elements primary-feedstocks separation line	Marion, Indiana United States	Separation Under construction	Mixed Rare Earth Carbonate → NdPr Oxide, Dysprosium and Terbium Oxides
Ucore Louisiana Strategic Metals Complex RapidSX rare earth separation (Production Line 1)	Alexandria, Louisiana United States	Separation Under construction	Mixed Rare Earth Carbonate → NdPr Oxide, Dysprosium and Terbium Oxides
USA Rare Earth Round Top Mountain Mining and processing (planned)	Sierra Blanca, Texas United States	Mining & feedstock Announced	Rare Earth Ore → Mixed Rare Earth Carbonate
USA Rare Earth Stillwater Rare earth metallization and strip-casting (CHIPS-funded, planned)	Stillwater, Oklahoma United States	Metals & alloys Financed	NdPr Oxide → NdFeB Alloy
Vulcan Elements Durham magnet facility Sintered NdFeB magnet manufacturing	Durham, North Carolina United States	Magnets Operating	NdPr Oxide → Sintered NdFeB Magnet
Arafura Nolans Rare Earths Project Mining and beneficiation	Nolans site, 135 km north of Alice Springs, Northern Territory Australia	Mining & feedstock Financed	Rare Earth Ore → Monazite Concentrate
Arafura Nolans Rare Earths Project Extraction and separation (NdPr oxide)	Nolans site, 135 km north of Alice Springs, Northern Territory Australia	Separation Financed	Monazite Concentrate → NdPr Oxide
Hastings Yangibana Rare Earths Project Mining and beneficiation (Yangibana, Stage 1)	Yangibana, Gifford Creek Station, approximately 250 km northeast of Carnarvon (Stage 2 hydrometallurgical plant planned at Onslow), Western Australia Australia	Mining & feedstock Financed	Rare Earth Ore → Monazite Concentrate
Hastings Yangibana Rare Earths Project Hydrometallurgical plant (Onslow, Stage 2)	Yangibana, Gifford Creek Station, approximately 250 km northeast of Carnarvon (Stage 2 hydrometallurgical plant planned at Onslow), Western Australia Australia	Mining & feedstock Announced	Monazite Concentrate → Mixed Rare Earth Carbonate
Iluka Resources Eneabba Rare Earths Refinery Rare earth refining and separation (light and heavy)	Eneabba, Western Australia Australia	Separation Under construction	Monazite Concentrate → NdPr Oxide, Dysprosium and Terbium Oxides
Lynas Kalgoorlie Rare Earths Processing Facility Cracking and leaching (mixed rare earth carbonate)	Kalgoorlie-Boulder (Lot 500 Great Eastern Highway, Yilkari), Western Australia Australia	Mining & feedstock Operating	Monazite Concentrate → Mixed Rare Earth Carbonate
Cyclic Materials Kingston Centre of Excellence and Commercial Hub Kingston commercial Hub (REEPure hydrometallurgical recycling)	Kingston, Ontario Canada	Recycling Under construction	Magnet Scrap and End-of-Life Feedstock → Mixed Rare Earth Carbonate
Geomega Magnet Recycling Demonstration Plant NdFeB magnet recycling demonstration line	Saint-Hubert (Longueuil), Quebec Canada	Recycling Under construction	Magnet Scrap and End-of-Life Feedstock → NdPr Oxide
SRC Rare Earth Processing Facility Monazite hydrometallurgy and REE separation	Saskatoon, Saskatchewan Canada	Separation Under construction	Monazite Concentrate → NdPr Oxide
SRC Rare Earth Processing Facility Rare earth metal smelting	Saskatoon, Saskatchewan Canada	Metals & alloys Operating	NdPr Oxide → NdPr Metal
Torngat Metals Strange Lake Rare Earth Project Strange Lake open-pit mine and concentration plant (planned)	Strange Lake (Lac Brisson), Nunavik, Quebec Canada	Mining & feedstock Financed	Rare Earth Ore → Mixed Rare Earth Carbonate
Torngat Metals Strange Lake Rare Earth Project Sept-Iles rare earth separation plant (planned)	Strange Lake (Lac Brisson), Nunavik, Quebec Canada	Separation Announced	Mixed Rare Earth Carbonate → NdPr Oxide, Dysprosium and Terbium Oxides
Ucore RapidSX Commercialization and Demonstration Facility (Kingston) RapidSX demonstration separation line	Kingston, Ontario Canada	Separation Operating	Mixed Rare Earth Carbonate → NdPr Oxide
Neo Performance Materials Silmet (Sillamäe) Light rare earth separation	Sillamäe, Ida-Viru County Estonia	Separation Operating	Mixed Rare Earth Carbonate → NdPr Oxide
Neo Performance Materials Silmet (Sillamäe) Heavy rare earth separation (small-scale line)	Sillamäe, Ida-Viru County Estonia	Separation Commissioned	Mixed Rare Earth Carbonate → Dysprosium and Terbium Oxides
Caremag Lacq Rare earth recycling and refining (mixed magnet and concentrate feed)	Lacq, Pyrenees-Atlantiques France	Separation Under construction	Magnet Scrap and End-of-Life Feedstock, Monazite Concentrate → Dysprosium and Terbium Oxides, NdPr Oxide
Solvay La Rochelle Rare earths for permanent magnets production line (inaugurated April 2025)	La Rochelle, Charente-Maritime France	Separation Operating	Mixed Rare Earth Carbonate → NdPr Oxide
Itelyum INSPIREE Ceccano Rare earth recycling from WEEE permanent magnets	Ceccano, Lazio Italy	Recycling Announced	Magnet Scrap and End-of-Life Feedstock → NdPr Oxide
Santoku Kobe rare earth operations Rare earth metal and magnet alloy production	Kobe, Hyogo Japan	Metals & alloys Operating	NdPr Oxide → NdFeB Alloy, NdPr Metal
Santoku Kobe rare earth operations Rare earth refining (new build, JOGMEC-funded)	Kobe, Hyogo Japan	Separation Announced	Mixed Rare Earth Carbonate → NdPr Oxide
Shin-Etsu Chemical new domestic rare earth refinery Rare earth refining (new build)	— Japan	Separation Announced	Mixed Rare Earth Carbonate → NdPr Oxide
REEtec RE1 Separation Plant (Herøya) RE1 rare earth separation	Porsgrunn (Herøya Industrial Park), Telemark Norway	Separation Under construction	Mixed Rare Earth Carbonate → NdPr Oxide
Mkango Pulawy separation plant Rare earth separation (planned)	Pulawy, Lublin Voivodeship Poland	Separation Announced	Mixed Rare Earth Carbonate → NdPr Oxide, Dysprosium and Terbium Oxides
KSM Metals Korean Metals Plant (Ochang) NdPr metallisation	Ochang Foreign Investment Zone, Cheongju, North Chungcheong (Chungcheongbuk-do) South Korea	Metals & alloys Operating	NdPr Oxide → NdPr Metal
LKAB ReeMAP (Malmberget/Per Geijer — Luleå Industrial Park) Apatite extraction and beneficiation (Malmberget, Per Geijer)	Luleå, Norrbotten County Sweden	Mining & feedstock Announced	Rare Earth Ore → Monazite Concentrate
LKAB ReeMAP (Malmberget/Per Geijer — Luleå Industrial Park) Apatite-to-critical-minerals processing (Luleå demonstration plant)	Luleå, Norrbotten County Sweden	Separation Under construction	Monazite Concentrate → Mixed Rare Earth Carbonate
Ionic Technologies Belfast Demonstration plant - magnet recycling and separation (operating)	Belfast, Northern Ireland United Kingdom	Recycling Operating	Magnet Scrap and End-of-Life Feedstock → NdPr Oxide, Dysprosium and Terbium Oxides
Ionic Technologies Belfast Commercial magnet recycling plant (announced; pre-FID, not built)	Belfast, Northern Ireland United Kingdom	Recycling Announced	Magnet Scrap and End-of-Life Feedstock → NdPr Oxide, Dysprosium and Terbium Oxides
Less Common Metals Ellesmere Port Rare earth metal making	Ellesmere Port, Cheshire United Kingdom	Metals & alloys Operating	NdPr Oxide → NdPr Metal
Pensana Saltend Rare Earth Processing Hub Rare earth separation hub (project shelved October 2025)	Saltend, East Yorkshire United Kingdom	Separation Cancelled	Mixed Rare Earth Carbonate → NdPr Oxide

Sources

Office of the Federal Register, National Archives · published Jul 25, 2019 · retrieved Aug 11, 2026 · archive
Holland & Knight LLP · published Apr 4, 2025 · retrieved Aug 11, 2026 · archive
U.S. Geological Survey · published Jan 1, 2025 · retrieved Aug 11, 2026 · archive