Loading…
Loading…
Last amendment: Non-binding LOI converted to definitive, finalized agreements; total committed federal + related capital framed as up to $1.6 billion. No change to the headline $277M/$1.3B split disclosed in the finalization release. on 2026-06-03.
Structured as a CHIPS and Science Act award (Commerce Dept CHIPS Program Office), even though the underlying activity is rare-earth mining and magnet manufacturing rather than semiconductors — CHIPS Program authority has been stretched by the administration to cover critical-mineral supply-chain security tied to semiconductor/defense end-uses. The package combines a direct grant ($277M) with a much larger senior secured loan ($1.3B), plus an equity stake (~16.1M shares) and warrants (~17.6M shares) for the government — a structure similar to the Intel and MP Materials CHIPS-era equity-for-funding deals. Disbursement is milestone-gated across two sites: Round Top, TX (mining, ore body rich in heavy rare earths and gallium) and Stillwater, OK (NdFeB magnet + rare-earth-metal manufacturing).
Severity set at 4 (quant): $1.3B senior secured loan + $277M direct grant is one of the larger single-company critical-minerals subsidy packages filed in the register, comparable in scale to MP Materials' DoD-backed package earlier in 2026.
(alongside MP Materials), extending the state-capitalism pattern beyond DoD-only deals into the Commerce/CHIPS channel.
terbium) — direct competition with China's heavy-REE and gallium export-control leverage (see China minerals counter-strike theme).
award, following the pattern seen with other 2026 critical-minerals deals.
inclusive of, the original $277M/$1.3B LOI split — the USAR release is ambiguous; filed here as a scope clarification via the amendments block rather than a rate change.
and construction lead times typical of US greenfield rare-earth mines.