Pentagon commits $500 million loan to Phoenix Tailings for rare earth plant

 Phoenix Tailings said on Tuesday the Pentagon’s Office of Strategic ​Capital has conditionally committed $500 ‌million in long-term debt financing to the company to construct ​a rare earth midstream ​processing plant in the U.S.

The federal commitment anchors ​a $1 billion project to ​build the “Freedom Facility” which will process raw mined concentrates and recycled scrap ​into critical light and ​heavy rare earth metals.

The initiative aims ‌to ⁠reduce U.S. military and commercial dependence on critical minerals refined overseas, particularly in China.

The ​rare ​earths ⁠processing startup, backed by BMW and Sumitomo, aims to ​start operations at ​the ⁠plant in 2028. The final loan remains subject to customary ⁠financial, ​legal, and ​technical due diligence.

(Reporting by Dharna Bafna in ​Bengaluru; Editing by Leroy Leo)