Blackboxstocks Inc. (NASDAQ: BLBX) Merger Target REAlloys Inc. and Japanese Government’s ‘JOGMEC’ Sign Strategic MOU to Strengthen U.S., Japan Rare Earth Supply Chain

Rhea-AI Summary

Blackboxstocks (NASDAQ: BLBX) announced that merger target REAlloys signed a Memorandum of Understanding with the Japan Organization for Metals and Energy Security (JOGMEC) on Oct 22, 2025 to build a strategic framework for rare earth development, technology transfer, and industrial security.

Key collaboration areas include technology transfer for magnets and separation, potential JOGMEC-supported investment and financing across REAlloys’ planned upstream mining (Saskatchewan), midstream separation (Saskatoon) and downstream manufacturing (Ohio), structured offtake access for Japanese industry, and allocation of REAlloys’ Hoidas Lake and secondary monazite/Brazil sources to Japanese users.

Positive

• First JOGMEC–U.S. rare earth company collaboration
• Technology transfer targetting NdFeB and SmCo magnet production
• Potential JOGMEC financing for upstream-midstream-downstream buildout

Negative

• MOU non-binding — investment and offtake terms are exploratory
• Timelines and funding not specified, creating near-term execution uncertainty

Insights

Supply Chain Strategist

Strategic MOU links a U.S. rare‑earth developer to Japan's state resource agency, materially advancing non‑Chinese supply chain capabilities.

Bold collaboration between REAlloys and JOGMEC creates a clear business mechanism: technology transfer, potential capital support, and structured offtake to integrate upstream mining in Saskatchewan, midstream separation in Saskatoon, and downstream manufacturing in Ohio.

Key dependencies and risks include successful transfer and qualification of Japanese magnet and separation technologies, the execution of JOGMEC‑supported financing, and actual offtake agreements with Japanese industry. Outcomes hinge on regulatory approvals and technical qualification timelines for NdFeB and SmCo magnet materials.

Near‑term items to watch are formal investment commitments, concrete offtake terms, and facility qualification milestones; monitor announcements and milestones through Oct. 22, 2025 and subsequent quarters for binding agreements and financing details. Notable precedent projects cited include partnerships sized at A$200 million and €110 million, which signal the scale JOGMEC can mobilize.

NEW YORK, Oct. 22, 2025 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Blackboxstocks Inc. (NASDAQ: BLBX) (“Blackboxstocks” or the “Company”) today announced that its merger target, REAlloys Inc. (“REAlloys”), has signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) with the Japan Organization for Metals and Energy Security (JOGMEC), a statutory corporation under Japan’s Ministry of Economy, Trade and Industry (METI), to establish a strategic framework for collaboration in rare earth development, technology transfer, and industrial security.

JOGMEC has spent decades driving the development of non-Chinese rare earth supply chains, many of which stem from its early strategic investments. Its landmark initiatives include the Japan Australia Rare Earths partnership with Lynas Rare Earths Ltd., backed by more than A$200 million, and the recent €110 million investment into the Caremag refinery in France. Its new collaboration with REAlloys marks JOGMEC’s first engagement with a U.S.-based rare earth company, aligning with the United States’ renewed push to expand domestic rare earth capacity and strengthen supply chain independence from China.

Under the MOU, REAlloys and JOGMEC will collaborate to develop, qualify, and supply high-performance rare earth materials and magnets supporting the U.S.–Japan Alliance and the Guidelines for Defense Cooperation.

“JOGMEC’s financial, technical and industrial leadership in this industry is unmatched,” said Leonard Sternheim, CEO of REAlloys. “By combining Japan’s technological excellence with North America’s industrial capacity, we are driving the next wave of resource innovation and helping deliver on North America’s mission to achieve supply chain independence from China.”

Hiroshi Kubota, Executive Vice President of JOGMEC added, “This collaboration underscores Japan’s commitment to building critical mineral partnerships with trusted allies. Through our work with REAlloys, we are extending Japan’s leadership in resource development, processing, and technology integration to support a more resilient and diversified global supply chain.”

Key Areas of Collaboration

• Technology Transfer and IP Licensing: JOGMEC, under METI commission, will facilitate the transfer of advanced Japanese magnet, separation, and processing technologies to REAlloys’ midstream and downstream facilities, supporting the production of NdFeB and SmCo magnets for defense and semiconductor applications.
• Investment and Financing: The parties will explore JOGMEC-supported investments and financing for REAlloys’ North American supply chain, spanning upstream mining (Saskatchewan), midstream separation (Saskatoon), and downstream manufacturing (Ohio).
• Offtake and Market Access: Structured offtake agreements between REAlloys and Japanese industry will be developed with JOGMEC support, ensuring stable, transparent access to REAlloys-produced rare earth alloys and magnet materials.
• Resource Allocation: REAlloys will allocate a portion of its Hoidas Lake and secondary monazite/Brazil sources — including scandium and yttrium oxides — to Japanese users, complementing supply commitments to U.S. defense and energy program.
• Other Innovative Advancement Opportunities: The parties will explore other potential innovative collaborations, including but not limited to, licensing JOGMEC’s seabed resource technologies within REAlloys’ broader supply partners and upstream resource development pipeline.
  

About REAlloys Inc.
REAlloys Inc. (“REA”) is building a North American mine-to-magnet supply chain, uniting upstream resources at Hoidas Lake, midstream processing development through its memorandum of understanding with the Saskatchewan Research Council, and downstream production of advanced alloys and magnet materials in Euclid, Ohio. The Hoidas Lake project boasts a significant Mineral Resource Estimate of 2,153,000 tons of Total Rare Earth Oxides (TREO) in the Measured and Indicated categories, with substantial potential upside. The Hoidas Lake deposit is distinguished by its unique combination of Heavy Rare Earth Elements (HREEs), including Dysprosium, Terbium, Gadolinium, and Erbium, and Light Rare Earth Elements (LREEs), such as Neodymium, Praseodymium, Cerium, and Lanthanum. Through its collaboration with the Saskatchewan Research Council (“SRC”), REA aims to establish and scale midstream processing capabilities across the continent that complement and feed its Euclid operations and strengthen North America’s developing independent rare earth supply chain. REA is expanding its Ohio facility’s production capacity, with plans to scale and expand its midstream capabilities alongside the SRC, while concurrently advancing its HLREE Project, positioning the company to meet high-performance magnet and alloy demand for U.S. Protected Markets, including defense, nuclear, robotics, electric aviation, and critical infrastructure sectors.

About JOGMEC
The Japan Organization for Metals and Energy Security (JOGMEC) is a statutory corporation under Japan’s Ministry of Economy, Trade and Industry (METI). JOGMEC advances the stable supply of critical minerals through investment, R&D, and global partnerships. Its rare earth programs, including the Japan Australia Rare Earths (JARE) initiative, have positioned Japan as a world leader in resource security, advanced processing, and recycling innovation.

About Blackboxstocks Inc.

Blackboxstocks Inc. is a financial technology and social media hybrid platform offering real-time proprietary analytics and news for stock and options traders of all levels. Our web-based software employs "predictive technology" enhanced by artificial intelligence to find volatility and unusual market activity that may result in the rapid change in the price of a stock or option. Blackbox continuously scans the NASDAQ, New York Stock Exchange, CBOE, and all other options markets, analyzing over 10,000 stocks and up to 1,500,000 options contracts multiple times per second. We provide our users with a fully interactive social media platform that is integrated into our dashboard, enabling our users to exchange information and ideas quickly and efficiently through a common network. We recently introduced a live audio/screenshare feature that allows our members to broadcast on their own channels to share trade strategies and market insight within the Blackbox community. Blackbox is a SaaS company with a growing base of users that spans over 40 countries. For more information, go to https://blackboxstocks.com/.

Contacts

Blackboxstocks Inc.
Investors@blackboxstocks.com

PCG Advisory
Jeff Ramson
(646) 863-6893
jramson@pcgadvisory.com

REalloys Inc.
Angela Gorman
Communications, REalloys
angela@amwpr.com
www.realloys.com

Safe Harbor Clause and Forward-Looking Statements

This press release includes forward-looking statements. All statements other than statements of historical facts contained in this press release, including statements regarding our future results of operations and financial position, business strategy and plans, and our objectives for future operations, are forward-looking statements. The words “anticipate,” “believe,” “continue,” “could,” “estimate,” “expect,” “expose,” “intend,” “may,” “might,” “opportunity,” “plan,” “possible,” “potential,” “predict,” “project,” “should,” “will,” “would” and similar expressions that convey uncertainty of future events or outcomes are intended to identify forward-looking statements, but the absence of these words does not mean that a statement is not forward-looking.

The forward-looking statements contained in this press release are based on our current expectations and beliefs concerning future developments and their potential effects on us. Future developments affecting us may not be those that we have anticipated. These forward-looking statements involve a number of risks, uncertainties (some of which are beyond our control) and other assumptions that may cause actual results or performance to be materially different from those expressed or implied by these forward-looking statements. These risks and uncertainties include, but are not limited to, (a) those factors described under the heading “Risk Factors” in our filings with the SEC, including our reports on Forms 10-K, 10-Q, 8-K and other filings that we make with the SEC from time to time; (b) that the Company and REalloys may be unable to complete the proposed Merger and related transactions because, among other reasons, conditions to the closing of the proposed transaction may not be satisfied or waived; (c) uncertainty as to the timing of completion of the proposed Merger and related transactions; (d) the inability to complete the proposed transaction due to the failure to obtain Company stockholder approval for the proposed Merger and related transactions or the failure to satisfy other conditions to completion of the proposed Merger and related transactions; (e) the occurrence of any event, change or other circumstances that could give rise to the termination of the Merger Agreement; (f) risks related to disruption of management’s attention from the Company’s ongoing business operations due to the proposed transaction; (g) the effect of the announcement of the proposed transaction on the Company’s relationships with its customers and suppliers, and on its operating results and business generally and (h) the outcome of any legal proceedings to the extent initiated against Company, REalloys or others following the announcement of the proposed transaction, as well as the Company’s and REalloys’ management's response to any of the aforementioned factors. Should one or more of these risks or uncertainties materialize, or should any of our assumptions prove incorrect, actual results may vary in material respects from those projected in these forward-looking statements. We undertake no obligation to update or revise any forward-looking statements, whether as a result of new information, future events or otherwise, except as may be required under applicable securities laws. These risks and others described under “Risk Factors” in our SEC filings may not be exhaustive.

By their nature, forward-looking statements involve risks and uncertainties because they relate to events and depend on circumstances that may or may not occur in the future. We caution you that forward-looking statements are not guarantees of future performance and that our actual results of operations, financial condition and liquidity, and developments in the industry in which we operate may differ materially from those made in or suggested by the forward-looking statements contained in this press release. In addition, even if our results or operations, financial condition and liquidity, and developments in the industry in which we operate are consistent with the forward-looking statements contained in this press release, those results or developments may not be indicative of results or developments in subsequent periods.

Disclosure Information

Blackbox uses and intends to continue to use its Investors website at https://blackboxstocks.com/company-overview as a means of disclosing material nonpublic information and for complying with its disclosure obligations under Regulation FD. Accordingly, investors should monitor the Company’s Investors website, in addition to following the Company’s press releases, SEC filings, public conference calls, presentations and webcasts.

FAQ

What did REAlloys and JOGMEC agree to in the Oct 22, 2025 MOU involving BLBX?

They agreed to collaborate on technology transfer, explore JOGMEC-supported investment, develop structured offtake access, and allocate certain resource streams to Japanese users.

How does the REAlloys–JOGMEC MOU affect Blackboxstocks (BLBX) merger prospects?

The MOU aligns REAlloys with a major Japanese resource partner, potentially strengthening the strategic case for the BLBX merger, but it remains non-binding.

Will JOGMEC finance REAlloys’ North American projects in Saskatchewan, Saskatoon, and Ohio?

The parties will explore JOGMEC-supported investments and financing, but no specific financing commitments or amounts were disclosed.

What technologies will JOGMEC transfer to REAlloys under the MOU?

JOGMEC will facilitate transfer of advanced Japanese magnet, separation, and processing technologies for NdFeB and SmCo magnet production.

Does the MOU guarantee offtake of REAlloys-produced rare earth materials to Japan?

The MOU contemplates developing structured offtake agreements with JOGMEC support, but no binding offtake contracts were announced.