InvestorNews is introducing a new continuing feature: The Lifton Living Rare Earths Tree, tracking companies outside China with the capability to produce rare earth metals, rare earth alloys, or both. The purpose of this tree is not simply to repeat corporate announcements. It distinguishes between the separate branches of the rare earth value chain: companies that can reduce rare earth oxides to metals, companies that can melt those metals into useful alloys, and companies that manufacture magnets from materials produced by others. These are very different industrial capabilities, yet they are too often described as interchangeable.
Like the industry it tracks, the tree will continue to grow and evolve as new and better information becomes available. Production capacity will be classified as operating, demonstrated, under construction, or merely announced, and production methods will be identified only when they can be verified. The rare earth industry is changing rapidly, but its progress must be measured by demonstrated capability, reproducible production, customer qualification and economic operation—not by press releases. As always, the objective is to follow where value is actually added.
The Rare Earth Metals’ MAP
Status: August 2026
Scope. The tree tracks companies outside China with demonstrated or developing capabilities to produce primary rare earth metals, rare earth alloys or finished rare earth permanent magnets. Announced capacity is separated from demonstrated and operating capability wherever possible.
| Company / Location | Primary Metal | Alloy / Magnets | Technology, Status & Capacity |
| Less Common Metals (LCM) – United Kingdom Wholly owned subsidiary of USA Rare Earth, Inc. (Nasdaq: USAR) | Yes – Nd, NdPr; selected Dy, Tb and specialty products | Yes – NdFeB, SmCo and specialty alloys; no finished magnets | Fused-salt electrolysis for Nd/NdPr; other reduction routes for selected products. Commercial. About 330 t/y metal design capacity after six-cell expansion; about 1,400 t/y strip-cast alloy capacity. |
| MP Materials Corp. (NYSE: MP) – United States | Yes – NdPr metal | Yes – strip-cast NdFeB alloy and finished magnets | Molten-salt electrolysis. Commercial production began in 2024. Separate metal and alloy nameplate capacities are not publicly disclosed. |
| Phoenix Tailings, Inc. — United States | Yes – light and heavy rare earth metals | Yes – selected alloys; no established finished-magnet output | Proprietary mixed-halide molten-salt reduction/electrolysis. Commercial scale-up. Exeter initial capacity about 200 t/y, scalable above 1,000 t/y; larger expansion remains future capacity. |
| Australian Strategic Materials Ltd. (ASX: ASM) — South Korea | Yes – NdPr, Dy and Tb metals | Yes – strip-cast NdFeB alloy | Proprietary metallization; not publicly confirmed as conventional MSE. Commercial/ramp-up. About 1,300 t/y Phase 1 alloy capacity; 3,600 t/y Phase 2 design. |
| SRE Vietnam Co., Ltd. — Vietnam | Yes – NdPr metal shipment confirmed | Not established | Reduction route undisclosed. Commercial shipment demonstrated in July 2026. Broader processing figure of 3,929 t/y should not be treated as verified metal capacity. |
| Woosung Materials Co., Ltd. (KRX: 011300) — Vietnam / South Korea | Yes – NdPr metal reported | Not clearly established; downstream plans announced | Formerly Seong An Materials Co., Ltd. Oxide-to-metal technology is not fully disclosed. Limited production/ramp-up. Approximately 144 t/y of installed capacity has been reported; larger expansion targets remain unverified. |
| IREL (India) Limited –– India | Yes – La and Ce demonstrated; historical Nd work | Limited / not established commercially | Chloride molten-salt electrolysis developed in collaboration with the Bhabha Atomic Research Centre (BARC). Pilot/TRL 8. Genuine technical capability has been demonstrated, but sustained high-volume commercial NdPr-metal production has not been verified. |
| REalloys Inc. (NASDAQ: ALOY) — Canada/United States | Developing / ramping NdPr; Sm/Gd project planned | Developing alloys and magnets | REalloys is developing its Canadian separation, refining and metallization platform through agreements with the Saskatchewan Research Council (SRC), a separate Saskatchewan Crown corporation. The reduction route is not fully public. Reported plans target approximately 500–530 t/y of NdPr-related output; a separate 300 t/y Sm/Gd project is planned and should not be classified as current production. |
| Star Group Ind. Co., Ltd. — South Korea | No public evidence of oxide-to-metal reduction | Yes – NdFeB alloy, strip casting and finished magnets | Commercial alloy and magnet producer. Uses purchased rare earth metal inputs. Separate strip-casting tonnage is not publicly established. |
| Gadolyn, Inc. — United States | No separate primary-metal stage in proposed process | Direct production of NdFeB, SmCo, FeDy and related alloys targeted | Hydrogen direct co-reduction of mixed oxides. Demonstration / precommercial. Neither molten-salt electrolysis nor metallothermic reduction. |
Important downstream companies not classified as confirmed primary metal producers
- Neo Performance Materials Inc. (TSX: NEO | OTCQX: NOPMF): Magnetic materials and expanding finished-magnet capacity in Estonia.
- Vacuumschmelze (VAC): Major alloy and permanent-magnet producer; primary oxide-to-metal production is not publicly established.
- Shin-Etsu, Proterial and TDK: Leading Japanese magnet and magnetic-material producers; current primary-metal routes and capacity are not transparent.
- Noveon Magnetics Inc., USA Rare Earth, Inc. (NASDAQ: USAR) Oklahoma and EM&T: Magnet, recycling or downstream processing platforms; do not classify as primary metallizers without specific evidence.
Definitions
- Primary rare earth metal producer: Converts rare earth oxides or halides into metallic rare earths.
- Rare earth alloy producer: Produces NdFeB, SmCo, DyFe or related alloys from rare earth metals or, in an emerging direct process, from oxide mixtures.
- Commercial: Customer shipments or sustained production have been reported; this does not necessarily prove nameplate operation or profitability.
- Ramp-up: Initial production exists, but announced capacity has not yet been demonstrated continuously.
- Pilot / demonstration: The chemistry or equipment has been shown to work, but sustained commercial throughput has not been established.
Editor’s note. This is a living tree that will grow and evolve as reliable new information becomes available. Samples, installed equipment, announced capacity, commercial shipments and sustained qualified production are not equivalent measures of industrial capability. The objective is to follow where value is actually added. Please email [email protected] with any requests you may have (Last updated: August 4, 2026).
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