Cyclic Materials to invest $82 million in new US rare-earth recycling campus

Jan 29 (Reuters) - Cyclic Materials will invest more than $82 million to build a rare-earth recycling campus in South Carolina, the company said on Thursday, expanding U.S. capacity to process critical minerals amid efforts to reduce reliance on overseas supply chains dominated by China.

The U.S. has limited domestic production of rare earths, a group of 17 minor elements critical for the manufacture of magnets used in a broad range of products, including cell phones, fighter jets, electric vehicles and medical kits. China is currently the world’s largest rare-earth processor.

Cyclic said the campus will initially be able to produce about 600 tonnes of recycled Mixed Rare Earth Oxides (MREO) a year, with a planned expansion to 1,800 tonnes.

"The ecosystem in South Carolina really connects well," CEO Ahmad Ghahreman told Reuters, adding that Cyclic has "quite a bit" of planned production tied up in offtake agreements.

The facility will use the Canadian company's processes to separate and recover MREOs from end-of-life products that are typically not recycled, creating a North America‑based supply of rare-earth elements.

The project is expected to begin operations in 2028, Cyclic said.