Rare earth refiner Phoenix gets Traxys backing to boost supply

Rare earth refiner Phoenix Tailings Inc. has raised $30.2 million from investors, including metals trader Traxys North America LLC, to expand facilities that recover key minerals from mining waste.

The company, which processes rare earth elements in the US, raised the funds through a Series B round that values the firm at $360 million, according to chief executive officer Nick Myers. Phoenix also signed a memorandum of understanding with Traxys to work toward an offtake agreement for rare earth metals, he said.

Other investors in Phoenix include Olive Tree Capital Inc. and Geodesic Alliance Fund LP, Myers said.

The capital raise comes as the US steps up efforts to build a critical minerals supply chain independent of China. Rare earths – a set of 17 metallic elements – are used in products ranging from smartphones and electric vehicles to fighter jets. China controls roughly 60% of the world’s mined rare earth output and more than 90% of global refining capacity, according to an October report by the International Energy Agency.

The funding “came together very fast, in about three months, and the excitement around rare earths is what caused that,” said Myers. “There’s money available for companies to scale up.”

Myers said Phoenix would use the funds to expand its facilities, extract more types of rare earth elements and hire executives, including a chief financial officer.

Traxys, one of the largest traders of niche metals like rare earths, has recently made deeper inroads to the US mining business, signing on to handle purchases of raw materials for the White House’s $12 billion Project Vault stockpiling initiative.

(By Jacob Lorinc and Emily Forgash)