USA Rare Earth is considering building a magnet plant in France, its CEO said on April 9, following a deal to take a 12.5 percent stake in local rare-earth processor Carester.
The company agreed to pay 40 million euros ($47 million) for the stake, as the United States and Europe step up efforts to build domestic supply chains and reduce reliance on China for critical minerals.
China controls roughly 90 percent of global capacity for the processing, smelting, and separation of all such materials, as well as for the manufacturing of magnetic materials.
“They [the French government] are interested in … supporting a potential USA Rare Earth magnet-making facility in the south of France,” USA Rare Earth CEO Barbara Humpton told an investor call….