Phoenix Tailings Completes Rare Earth Separation System Design
News related to:Phoenix Tailings · 2 min read
BURLINGTON, Mass., Oct. 16, 2026 /CourierPR/ -- Phoenix Tailings has achieved a significant milestone in its efforts to secure a domestic supply of rare earth materials, a critical component for advanced manufacturing and national defense. The company has completed the preliminary designs for its commercial-scale rare earth separation system, a key step in its $1.2 billion separation-and-metallization project, known as Freedom.
Nick Myers, co-founder and CEO of Phoenix Tailings, emphasized the importance of this development.
The new system will enable Phoenix Tailings to expand its commercial capabilities beyond its existing metallization operations. It will cover the entire "Missing Midstream," the critical processing steps between mined rare earth ores and finished materials. According to Tomas Villalon, CTO and co-founder of Phoenix Tailings, the system is designed to handle feedstocks from both mines and recyclers, with a modular design that allows for expansion as feedstock supply grows and market demand increases.
The separation technology is planned to be deployed as part of the Freedom Project, supported by a conditional loan commitment from the Department of War's Office of Strategic Capital, announced in June. This project aims to establish an enduring American industrial base for rare earth production, supplying the materials that underpin economic strength and national security.
Phoenix Tailings' next step is to scale the separation process to initially process more than 18,000 tons of rare earth feedstocks annually and produce more than 4,400 tons of separated oxides to supply its commercial metal operations. Backed by two years of pilot testing and validation from engineering partners, the system is designed to be flexible and scalable, ensuring that it can adapt to changing market conditions and increasing demand.
This advancement marks a crucial step in Phoenix Tailings' mission to reduce America's reliance on Chinese-controlled critical materials and build the necessary industrial capacity. The company's efforts align with broader national strategies to secure a stable and reliable supply chain for rare earth materials, essential for a wide range of high-tech applications and national defense initiatives.