Highlights
- ReElement Technologies and Vulcan Elements secured a historic $1.4 billion partnership with the U.S. Department of Defense's Office of Strategic Capital to build a fully integrated domestic rare-earth supply chain.
- The partnership targets 10,000 metric tonnes of NdFeB magnet production annually.
- Funded under Trump's OBBBA with $100 billion in lending authority.
- This deal represents the first time in decades the U.S. is financing the complete supply chain from mining through refining to finished magnet fabrication on American soil.
- The partnership is strategically transformative for the parent company American Resources Corp (NASDAQ: AREC) and national security.
- Execution risks remain high—investors should monitor construction milestones, production output, and offtake agreements before the partnership's promise becomes proven capability.
In one of the largest strategic-materials commitments in U.S. history, ReElement Technologies Corporation (opens in a new tab) and Vulcan Elements (opens in a new tab) announced a $1.4 billion partnership with the U.S. Department of War’s Office of Strategic Capital (opens in a new tab) (OSC). The deal—anchored by loans of $620 million to Vulcan and $80 million to ReElement—aims to stand up a fully integrated domestic supply chain for rare-earth separation, metalmaking, and NdFeB magnet manufacturing.
Table of Contents
Rare Earth Exchanges (REEx) analyzes ReElement Technologies’ and Vulcan Elements’ $1.4 billion OSC-backed deal with the U.S. Department of War, balancing its historic potential against operational risk. It explains why execution, financing, and timely delivery will determine whether this announcement marks a true industrial renaissance or another aspirational headline.
Background
Funded under President Trump’s One Big Beautiful Bill Act (OBBBA), the OSC’s program has $100 billion in total lending authority for critical-mineral projects. In exchange, the U.S. government will receive warrants in ReElement Technologies, underscoring federal interest in a permanent stake in the sector. If executed, ReElement and Vulcan plan to scale production to 10,000 metric tonnes of NdFeB magnets annually—a capability that could narrow America’s entire magnet deficit by nearly half.
Why It Matters: A Full-Spectrum American Rebuild
For the first time in decades, Washington is funding not just mining but midstream refining and downstream magnet fabrication inside U.S. borders. ReElement’s multi-feedstock refining platform and Vulcan’s U.S.-based sintered magnet capacity together represent the missing link between American ores and finished high-energy magnets used in EVs, wind turbines, and defense systems.
Chairman and CEO Mark Jensen framed the moment plainly: “We are honored to have the support of our government and remain fully committed to meeting the call of our nation.”
The strategic logic is undeniable. Vulcan’s CEO John Maslin — a former Navy officer — called it “a capability the nation urgently needs,” linking industrial policy directly to national security.
The Caveats: Delivery and Execution
For investors and policy watchers, the scale of the commitment is matched by the execution challenge. The partnership remains in due-diligence with the OSC; disbursement depends on meeting technical, environmental, and financial benchmarks.
Both companies must demonstrate they can build, staff, and operate a vertically integrated supply chain faster than any previous U.S. attempt. Questions linger: Can ReElement’s platform scale commercially without cost overruns? Will Vulcan achieve the required yield and quality to compete with China’s dominant producers?
Execution and timing are everything. Investors should watch for plant-construction milestones, first oxide output, magnet throughput, and verification of offtake agreements before assigning valuation premiums. The partnership’s promise is extraordinary; its proof will be measured in tonnes, not press releases.
Market and Stock Perspective
Parent company American Resources Corp (opens in a new tab) (NASDAQ: AREC) trades as a small-cap industrial with limited liquidity but high optionality. Technically, shares have found support near their 12-month base, signaling speculative interest pending project funding confirmation.
Fundamentally, execution of the $1.4 billion plan could transform AREC from a coal-to-minerals transition story into a national-security asset — but only if deliverables arrive on schedule.
Vulcan Elements
Vulcan Elements is a privately held American startup specializing in rare earth magnet manufacturing, headquartered in Research Triangle Park, North Carolina, and founded in 2023 by former U.S. Navy nuclear propulsion lab manager John Maslin.
The company produces sintered neodymium-iron-boron (NdFeB) magnets, with a current production capacity of approximately 10 metric tons per year as of October 2025. Vulcan’s 21,000-square-foot manufacturing and R&D facility houses advanced metallurgical equipment, including a Consarc strip-casting furnace, with process validation conducted by the Ames Laboratory.
The company’s supply chain is designed for strategic independence, sourcing materials and equipment solely from U.S.-based firms without exposure to Chinese entities—partners include ReElement Technologies (Indiana) for refined rare-earth oxides and Consarc (New Jersey) for metallurgical systems.
Backed by investors such as Altimeter Capital, One Investment Management, and 1789 Capital, Vulcan has raised $65 million at a $250 million valuation and secured defense-sector orders, positioning itself as a rising player in America’s drive for a domestic, secure rare-earth magnet supply chain. With this latest deal the states become much bigger.
Question: What does this deal do to the REEx Magnet Manufacturing Global Rankings, if anything?
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What is the relationship between AREC, and the two companies that just landed a Fed. Govt. contract for $ 1.4B ? ? ?