Ionic Rare Earths [ASX:IXR], the Australian-listed critical minerals developer, has signed a memorandum of understanding with Missouri-based US Strategic Metals (USSM) to advance rare earths recycling and processing in the United States, marking a deepening of the Washington–Canberra partnership on critical mineral security.
The agreement, signed at an official ceremony at the Australian Embassy in Washington, D.C., underscores growing transpacific efforts to build an “ex-China” supply chain for the rare earths and magnet metals essential to defence systems, electric vehicles and renewable technologies.
Under the non-binding memorandum, Ionic Rare Earths and USSM will collaborate on developing downstream processing capacity at USSM’s fully permitted 1,800-acre site in Missouri. The partnership’s first step will be to deploy Ionic’s patented magnet recycling technology, capable of recovering high-value materials from end-of-life components such as electric motor magnets and wind turbine generators.
The planned facility will focus on producing neodymium and praseodymium, key components of permanent magnets, along with heavier and more strategic elements such as dysprosium, terbium and samarium, which were recently placed under new Chinese export restrictions.
Low cost pathway for rare earth supply chain
Tim Harrison, managing director of Ionic Rare Earths, described magnet recycling as “the fastest and lowest-cost pathway to developing an ex-China rare earth supply chain in the United States.” He added that Ionic’s UK-based technology, which has been shown to reduce emissions by up to 61 per cent compared with traditional mine-based supply, will now be replicated in the U.S.
“Now is the time to accelerate this technology,” Harrison said. “We can build globally to offer a resilient supply of high-purity rare earth oxides, delivered sustainably thanks to our proven low-emission processes.”
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US Strategic Metals’ chief executive, Stacy Hastie, said the deal aligned with his company’s vision to become a key player in building U.S. self-sufficiency. “Our Missouri operations are designed to meet America’s demand while collaborating with partners dedicated to responsible and secure sourcing,” he said. “Working with IonicRE, we aim to accelerate technological progress and shape the future of domestic critical mineral supply chains.”
Strategic US-Australia deal on critical minerals
The signing follows last month’s announcement of a U.S.–Australia Critical Minerals Framework between President Donald Trump and Australian Prime Minister Anthony Albanese, which commits the two countries to jointly investing at least $1 billion toward an $8.5 billion pipeline of critical mineral projects.
The deal forms part of a broader effort under Executive Order 14241 to expand domestic mineral production and strengthen supply chains through the Quadrilateral Security Dialogue, involving the U.S., Australia, Japan and India.
Brett Lynch, executive chairman of Ionic Rare Earths, said the Missouri project represented “an important step forward in building a secure and sustainable ex-China rare earths supply chain in the world’s largest economy.”
The United States currently imports about 70 per cent of its rare earths from China, but legislation now requires that all Chinese rare earth content be eliminated from U.S. weapons systems by 2027. Washington has been pushing to diversify sources of these materials, with Missouri emerging as a potential processing hub.
Ionic Rare Earths: The Armchair Trader view
For Ionic Rare Earths, the deal marks another step in its global expansion across Europe and the Americas as demand for heavy rare earths intensifies. Earlier this year, the company secured a $3 million strategic investment from U.S.-based Argentem Creek Partners, an investment firm focused on energy transition and critical minerals.
As governments and investors race to secure supplies of the metals underpinning green and defence technologies, the Ionic–USSM partnership illustrates how recycling could become a linchpin of supply chain resilience and a new front in the contest to reduce dependency on China’s mineral dominance.
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