North America-focused critical minerals producer Energy Fuels has marked a milestone in the development of Western rare earth supply chains, announcing on Wednesday the first US primary production of high-purity heavy rare earth oxides in decades.

The company successfully produced its first kilogram of 99.9% pure terbium oxide at its White Mesa mill in Utah, using monazite ore sourced from within the US. This follows the recent production of nearly 30 kg of dysprosium oxide at similar purity levels.

Energy Fuels believes it is the first US company in decades to demonstrate a mine-to-oxide capability for heavy rare earth elements at commercially relevant purity levels suitable for downstream validation.

“This success proves we can process and produce high-purity ‘heavy’ rare earth oxides economically and at scale in the US,” said CEO Mark Chalmers. 

The development comes amid growing concerns over supply chain security, particularly as dysprosium and terbium remain subject to export controls from China, which dominates global rare earth processing.

Energy Fuels said its terbium oxide production had reached a pilot-scale rate of about 1 kg a week, with additional pilot production planned for other rare earth oxides including samarium, europium and gadolinium.

The company is advancing plans to scale up production, targeting commercial-level output from existing mill circuits as early as 2027, subject to regulatory approvals and feedstock availability. At full capacity, the facility could produce about 35 t/y of dysprosium and 12 t/y of terbium, alongside up to 1 000 t/y of neodymium-praseodymium (NdPr).

Further expansion through a planned Phase 2 circuit could lift total rare earth oxide capacity to more than 6 000 t/y of NdPr, as well as 80 t/y of terbium and 288 t/y of dysprosium, potentially supplying enough material for about seven-million electric vehicles a year.

To support its growth strategy, Energy Fuels plans to source monazite concentrates both domestically and from allied jurisdictions, including projects in Australia, Madagascar and Brazil.

The company said the milestone strengthened the case for establishing secure, Western-aligned supply chains for critical minerals, particularly those used in clean energy and defence applications.