U.S. Army Picks REalloys to Build Rare-Earth Processing Plant at Utah Depot, Operations Targeted for 2027

The U.S. Army selected REalloys to build and operate the first commercial critical-mineral processing operation on a U.S. military installation. REalloys will construct a heavy rare earth processing complex at the Tooele Army Depot in Utah to refine dysprosium and terbium.

Commercial development at the site is targeted to begin in 2027, with initial operating capability expected no later than 2028. That schedule aligns with the January 1, 2027 federal procurement ban on Chinese rare earth materials used in U.S. defense systems, OilPrice.com reported.

REalloys will finance, build, and operate the Tooele facilities under an Enhanced Use Lease structure. The company will also support the U.S. Army, the Defense Logistics Agency, the Department of Energy and NASA.

Earlier this year the Defense Logistics Agency awarded REalloys a contract to expand domestic samarium and gadolinium metal production. REalloys committed approximately $20.6 million to upgrades at the Saskatchewan Research Council’s rare earth processing facility and secured exclusive supply rights for 80 percent of the facility’s expanded output, including NdPr metal and dysprosium and terbium oxides.

SRC’s initial commercial production is targeted for early 2027.

REalloys is building a dedicated heavy rare earth metallization facility for dysprosium and terbium metals, with engineering underway and major equipment procurement begun. Qualification materials from that facility are expected as early as the fourth quarter of 2026.

REalloys holds a definitive long-term offtake agreement for 15 percent of Phase 1 production from Critical Metals’ Tanbreez project in Greenland.