MP Materials and Energy Fuels: Complementary Roles in US Rare Earths

The U.S. rare earth sector is evolving as an interdependent ecosystem rather than a winner-take-all race.

MP Materials is concentrating on upstream mining at Mountain Pass and an ambitious, capital‑intensive push into separation, metals and magnet production, supported by Department of Defense price protections and long‑term offtake commitments. That vertical strategy reduces external reliance but concentrates execution risk across many stages.

Energy Fuels is tackling a different, crucial constraint: midstream chemical processing and refining. Its White Mesa Mill is the only fully licensed conventional uranium mill in the U.S. and is operating as a chemically complex platform producing mixed rare earth carbonates, separating NdPr at commercial scale and piloting heavy rare earth oxides such as dysprosium and terbium. Those heavy REEs remain the hardest link to replace and are essential for high‑temperature, defense and aerospace magnets.

Market comparisons that treat integration as a binary advantage miss the point: resilient supply chains need multiple feedstocks, processors and chemical pathways. If either company falters, different vulnerabilities emerge. The strategic value of separation and refining capacity will grow with export controls and price volatility, making both firms important to domestic supply security.