US firm and Ionic Rare Earths to build magnet recycling plant in Missouri

US Strategic Metals and Ionic Rare Earths have agreed to build the first U.S. magnet recycling plant in Fredericktown, Missouri. The project, announced on September 3, 2026, is a significant step towards establishing a domestic supply chain for critical minerals and heavy rare earths.

Under the agreement, US Strategic Metals (USSM) will contribute $95 million and host the magnet recycling facility on its 1,750-acre permitted site in Missouri. Ionic Rare Earths USA, a wholly owned subsidiary of Ionic Rare Earths Limited (ASX: IXR), will license its magnet recycling technology and lead technical operations. The joint venture will develop one or more magnet recycling facilities as part of an integrated critical minerals campus.

The initial funding for the project, totaling $100 million, will come from USSM and Ionic USA, with USSM providing $95 million and Ionic USA contributing $5 million split equally between the partners. This investment is intended to cover the construction of the neodymium-iron-boron (NdFeB) and samarium-cobalt (SmCo) recycling facilities and any additional capital required for further development.

Stacy W. Hastie, Co-Founder and CEO of USSM, stated, "USSM is dedicated to being a leader in the establishment of supply chains for critical minerals and heavy rare earths. This agreement is a major step towards achieving our vision. IonicRE has proven the capability of its rare earth permanent magnet recycling technology; now is the time to apply this on an industrial scale."

The site in Missouri offers a fully permitted and operational multi-metallic campus, which will process recycled NdFeB and SmCo magnets and magnet scrap. The joint venture also intends to evaluate the recovery of additional heavy rare earths, including europium (Eu), gadolinium (Gd), holmium (Ho), erbium (Er), thulium (Tm), lutetium (Lu), and yttrium (Y).

Hastie added, "The United States will not be left behind in the race to build the industries key to national security and our economic future. We look forward to moving this joint venture forward as quickly as possible, working with the U.S. Government, IonicRE, and other stakeholders."

The project aligns with the United States, Australia Framework for Securing of Supply in the Mining and Processing of Critical Minerals and Rare Earths, signed on October 21, 2025, by President Donald J. Trump and Prime Minister Anthony Albanese.

Brett Lynch, Executive Chairman of Ionic Rare Earths, expressed excitement, saying, "The United States is the world's biggest economy with the unmatched financial firepower and industrial know-how to drive development of this key technology. We are delighted to upgrade our previously announced memorandum of understanding with USSM with the intention of building our first U.S. facility in Missouri."

The companies are currently progressing definitive agreements, which they aim to complete by the end of 2026. The proposed joint venture is conditional on entering into these agreements, each party making its capital contributions, and a range of documentation and other matters being agreed upon. There is no certainty that the matters contemplated by the term sheet will materialize.

US Strategic Metals is a vertically integrated critical minerals platform with the objective of becoming the first major domestic producer of critical minerals in the United States. Its processing site in Missouri will produce critical materials including alloy-grade cobalt, antimony sulfide, nickel metal, lithium carbonate, copper cathode, and rare earth elements.

USSM's capacity to process complex polymetallic sulfides using well-known methods combined with in-house, novel technology positions it as a market leader in reliable, ethically sourced, and environmentally responsible strategic metals for U.S. and global markets. Anchored by its team of experienced professionals and substantial domestic resources, USSM is building capacity to meet the needs of the defense and advanced technology industries.