China almost entirely dominates the midstream processing stage of the rare earth minerals supply chain, making it extremely difficult for the U.S. to compete.

Phoenix Tailings, a critical minerals processing startup, has raised $120 million in funding and is backed by investors including BMW and Sumitomo.

The U.S. Department of Defense requires approximately 500 tons of rare earth metals per year, while the U.S. commercial sector needs about 12,000 tons annually.