REalloys Inc. (NASDAQ: ALOY), a U.S.-based mine-to-magnet rare earth company, announced plans to build the largest heavy rare earth metallization facility outside of China, in partnership with the Saskatchewan Research Council (SRC). The facility, which will be fully financed and compliant with 2027 U.S. defense procurement bans on Chinese sourcing, is expected to begin operations in the first half of 2027.
The heavy rare earth metal facility (HREMF) will be constructed in Saskatoon, Saskatchewan, with equipment later relocated to Ohio to better serve downstream U.S. defense industrial base customers and supply U.S. Defense Logistics Agency (DLA) strategic rare earth stockpiles. REalloys will own 100% of the HREMF, which will integrate with its current metallization operations in Euclid, Ohio—the only heavy rare earth metallization capability currently operating in North America.
The HREMF will produce approximately 30 tonnes of dysprosium and 15 tonnes of terbium metal annually, critical for high-performance defense magnets. With a projected cost of about $40 million, the project is fully funded following REalloys' recent $50 million financing. This facility will be the first and only commercial-scale heavy rare earth metallization platform with zero-Chinese nexus, coming online as U.S. defense procurement waivers expire and statutory restrictions take full effect under 10 U.S.C. §4872 and DFARS 252.225-7052.
This initiative builds on the partnership REalloys and SRC announced in December 2025, where REalloys invested in expanded production capacity at SRC's Rare Earth Processing Facility (REPF) in Saskatoon in exchange for 80% of its output. SRC's REPF, the first commercial-scale rare earth processing facility in North America, will produce high-purity neodymium-praseodymium metal and dysprosium and terbium oxides, which will then be processed at REalloys' HREMF.
The collaboration establishes North America's first integrated heavy rare earth value chain, linking Canadian resource security and midstream processing with U.S. downstream metallization and manufacturing. This alignment reflects broader Canada-U.S. cooperation under Title 50 and related defense production frameworks to secure critical materials within allied borders.
Stephen duMont, Chairman of REalloys, stated, "The Ohio facility will create the metallization capability that bridges Canadian oxide production with U.S. magnet manufacturing—a critical link that's never existed at scale in the West. This is not a pilot plant; this will be full scale commercial capacity, built with zero Chinese nexus, AI-enabled process optimization, and full compliance with Title 50 defense sourcing requirements."
Mike Crabtree, President and CEO of SRC, added, "Together our teams have engineered every step of this value chain; from separation to metal production; to operate within allied borders and to world-class standards. This partnership with REalloys creates the Western hemisphere's first end-to-end rare earth metal capability, powered by collaboration and stability, not dependency."
The project marks a significant step in reducing reliance on Chinese rare earth processing, addressing a critical bottleneck in North American defense supply chains. By providing a compliant, zero-China nexus solution, REalloys and SRC aim to meet defense and industrial supply requirements across both nations on an accelerated timeline.
