The Rare Earth Race Has a New Front-Runner

Rhea-AI Summary

As the U.S. rushes to build a non-Chinese rare earth supply chain, multiple companies are advancing new strategies. Western Digital (NASDAQ: WDC) is highlighted for its role in rare earth recycling from hard disk drives.

In April 2025, Western Digital completed an at-scale pilot with Microsoft, Critical Materials Recycling, and PedalPoint Recycling, processing about 50,000 pounds of shredded end-of-life HDDs using an environmentally friendly, non-acid extraction method. The process recovered rare earth oxides along with gold, copper, aluminum, and steel. Western Digital views this model as a blueprint to transform global HDD recycling and potentially reduce U.S. reliance on virgin rare earth mining by feeding recovered materials back into the domestic supply chain.

AI-generated analysis. Not financial advice.

Key Figures

Offtake term: 15 years Tanbreez Phase 1 share: 15% of production Heavy rare earth share: 27% +5 more

8 metrics

Offtake term 15 years REalloys–Critical Metals Tanbreez offtake agreement duration

Tanbreez Phase 1 share 15% of production Portion of monthly Phase 1 output contracted to REalloys

Heavy rare earth share 27% Estimated heavy rare earths fraction of Tanbreez project profile

Phase One capital $75 million Capital required for REalloys Phase One buildout

Cash allocated $50 million Cash already allocated to REalloys Phase One buildout

Apple–MP Materials deal $500 million 2025 partnership for U.S. recycled rare earth magnets

WDC pilot feedstock 50,000 pounds Shredded end-of-life HDDs processed in recycling pilot

Solar recycling capacity 100,000 tons / 3.3M panels per year Design capacity of Comstock’s Silver Springs solar recycling facility

Market Reality Check

Price: $4.09 Vol: Volume 1,006,037 is below...

low vol

$4.09 Last Close

Volume Volume 1,006,037 is below the 20-day average of 1,501,526 (relative volume 0.67). low

Technical Price 4.09 is trading above the 200-day MA at 3.24 and about 14.8% below the 52-week high of 4.7999.

Peers on Argus

LODE is up about 2% while key peers PLG, VOXR, PLL, LGO, and USGO show declines ...

LODE is up about 2% while key peers PLG, VOXR, PLL, LGO, and USGO show declines between roughly -1.78% and -9.6%, indicating a stock-specific move rather than a sector-wide rotation.

Historical Context

5 past events · Latest: May 07 (Positive)

Pattern 5 events

Date	Event	Sentiment	Move	Catalyst
May 07	Q1 2026 results	Positive	-10.9%	Oversubscribed $57.5M equity financing and strong cash with recycling ramp.
Apr 30	Earnings call notice	Neutral	+1.2%	Scheduling of Q1 2026 earnings call and business update webinar.
Apr 15	Rare earths feature	Positive	+2.0%	Commentary on non-Chinese rare earth supply, highlighting REalloys and peers including LODE.
Apr 15	Shareholder letter	Positive	+2.0%	Update on shift to solar-panel recycling, asset sales, and equipment commissioning.
Mar 26	Annual meeting setup	Neutral	-3.7%	Announcement of 2026 Annual Meeting logistics and topics including Comstock Metals.

Pattern Detected

News tied to Comstock’s strategic transition and rare earths theme has often seen modest positive reactions, while the latest Q1 earnings and recapitalization update coincided with a notable selloff.

Recent Company History

Over the last few months, Comstock has pivoted hard toward renewable metals and solar-panel recycling, moving away from legacy mining. A March 26 meeting announcement and a April 15 shareholder letter highlighted plans for multiple recycling facilities and expected proceeds from mining-asset sales. A separate April 15 rare earths commentary placed LODE among strategic critical-minerals names. Q1 2026 results on May 7 detailed oversubscribed financing and strong cash, yet the stock fell, suggesting some investors sold strength despite operational progress. Today’s article again frames LODE as part of the non-Chinese critical-metals supply chain.

Regulatory & Risk Context

Active S-3 Shelf

Shelf Active

Active S-3 Shelf Registration 2026-04-24

An effective S-3 shelf dated 2026-04-24 registers 4,110,673 existing shares for resale by current holders. It is a secondary offering, and the company will receive no proceeds, but it enables those shareholders to sell into the market under the registration.

Market Pulse Summary

This announcement frames LODE as part of a broader ecosystem of companies building non-Chinese rare-...

Analysis

This announcement frames LODE as part of a broader ecosystem of companies building non-Chinese rare-earth and critical-metals supply chains, with Comstock focused on zero‑landfill solar-panel recycling at up to 100,000 tons or 3.3 million panels per year. Recent history shows Q1 recapitalization, strong cash, and a strategic shift away from mining toward recycling and clean materials. Investors may watch execution milestones at the Nevada facility, progress on mining-asset sales, and any use of the effective S-3 resale registration.

Key Terms

offtake agreement, rare earth oxides, ndfeb, permanent magnet

4 terms

offtake agreement financial

"it has signed a definitive 15-year offtake agreement with Critical Metals Corp."

A contract in which a buyer commits to purchase a set portion or percentage of a producer’s future output—such as minerals, energy, agricultural goods, or manufactured products—often over a multi‑year period. It matters to investors because it creates predictable sales and cash flow, reduces the risk of unsold inventory, and can make projects easier to finance; think of it like pre‑selling future harvests or securing long‑term customers before production begins.

rare earth oxides technical

"converting rare earth oxides into defense-grade metals, alloys, and eventually"

Rare earth oxides are compounds formed when rare earth elements combine with oxygen, creating powders or solids used as the raw ingredients for critical components like strong magnets, catalysts, display phosphors and some battery materials. They matter to investors because these materials are essential to many high‑growth industries and their supply is often concentrated and hard to scale, so shortages, production changes or cost swings can quickly affect manufacturers’ profits and stock values.

ndfeb technical

"the NdFeB permanent magnet type used in missile systems, fighter aircraft"

NdFeB are neodymium-iron-boron permanent magnets — tiny but extremely strong magnets used inside electric motors, wind turbines, hard drives and many consumer devices. They matter to investors because their performance, cost and supply are driven by a small number of raw materials and producers; changes in rare-earth prices, trade policy or demand for electrification can quickly affect manufacturers’ costs, product competitiveness and company profits.

permanent magnet technical

"the world's most strongest and most advanced magnet: the NdFeB permanent magnet type"

A permanent magnet is a piece of material that produces a steady magnetic field without needing electricity or external power, like a fridge magnet that sticks on its own. Investors care because these magnets are key parts inside electric motors, generators, sensors and consumer electronics, so changes in demand, material costs (e.g., rare earths) or manufacturing capacity can affect companies’ costs, product performance and competitive position.

AI-generated analysis. Not financial advice.

FN Media Group Presents Oilprice.com Market Commentary

NEW YORK, May 28, 2026 /PRNewswire/ -- As Washington races to build a rare earth supply chain that can survive the Pentagon's 2027 ban on Chinese-origin materials, REalloys (ALOY) has locked in long-term supply from one of the largest known heavy rare earth deposits in the world.  Companies mentioned in today's commentary includes:  Realloys Inc. (ALOY), Lynas Rare Earths Ltd. (OTCQX: LYSDY), Apple Inc. (NASDAQ: AAPL), Western Digital Corporation (NASDAQ: WDC), Alphabet Inc. (NASDAQ: GOOGL), Comstock Inc. (NYSE American: LODE).

The company announced last Thursday that it has signed a definitive 15-year offtake agreement with Critical Metals Corp. covering 15% of Phase 1 production from the Tanbreez project in southern Greenland, a massive heavy rare earth deposit containing Dysprosium and Terbium, the two most strategically sensitive magnet materials used in fighter aircraft, missile systems, radar platforms, drones, and advanced defense hardware.

REalloys is building one of the only integrated heavy rare earth metallization and magnet production platforms in North America as Washington pushes to break its dependence on Chinese processing capacity before the Pentagon ban takes effect in only seven months.

The company's Euclid, Ohio, operation focuses on the hardest part of the rare earth supply chain outside China: converting rare earth oxides into defense-grade metals, alloys, and eventually the world's most strongest and most advanced magnet: the NdFeB permanent magnet type used in missile systems, fighter aircraft, radar platforms, robotics, EV drivetrains, and advanced industrial systems. 

REalloys says it is scaling that Ohio platform into the largest heavy rare earth metallization facility outside China, supported by a growing network of allied-nation feedstock agreements.

The Tanbreez agreement significantly expands that network.

Under the deal, REalloys will secure 15% of monthly Phase 1 production from the Greenland project for an initial 15-year term. 

This is another major announcement for REalloys as the company rushes to stay ahead of major defense deadlines. 

The Tanbreez offtake deal follows REalloys strategic partnership with Saskatchewan Research Council  tied to 80% of the output from the Saskatchewan Research Council's commercial rare earth processing facility. It also adds to the company's previously-     secured rights to up to 10% of production from the high-grade Sheep Creek rare earth deposit in Montana, and its controls of the Hoidas Lake rare earth asset      in Saskatchewan. 

GREENLAND IS EMERGING AS A WESTERN RARE EARTH STRONGHOLD

Trump didn't manage to buy Greenland, but REalloys got its critical minerals. 

The strategic importance of the Tanbreez project goes far beyond scale. 

The Greenland deposit is one of the largest known heavy rare earth resources globally and one of the few major Western-aligned projects capable of supplying meaningful quantities of Dysprosium and Terbium outside China.

Tanbreez isn't just another rare earths venue. It's a heavy rare earth behemoth, while most global deposits focus on less valuable light rare earth production. Critical Metals estimates heavy rare earths account for roughly 27% of the project's total profile. Most global deposits focused primarily on light rare earth production.

The Greenland project is already fully permitted and advancing under a Western-aligned ownership structure following Greenland's approval of Critical Metals' acquisition of a controlling 92.5% interest earlier this year. 

For REalloys, the deal secures another long-term heavy rare earth materials now central to Pentagon supply chain planning amid a Middle East conflict that is rapidly depleting the arsenal. 

Johns Hopkins economists Steve Hanke and Jeffrey Weng told Fortune magazine that the U.S. has already burned through massive portions of its precision weapons inventory across Iran and Ukraine, while remaining dependent on Chinese-controlled rare earth materials to replace them. The economists suggest that Washington has blown through 45% of its Precision Strike Missile inventory just in Iran, and nearly 50% of its THAAD interceptors and 30% of its Tomahawk cruise missiles, among others. 

Those systems rely on samarium-cobalt magnets or dysprosium- and terbium-enhanced NdFeB magnets that still flow overwhelmingly through China's refining and metallization system. The authors estimate that replenishing just four major weapons systems could require between five and ten metric tons of finished defense-grade rare earth magnets, with more than 95% of current supply chains still tied to China.

And that's the gap REalloys is helping to close, with a North American solution helmed by       a leadership lineup that represents the who's who of American defense. 

Joe Kasper, former Chief of Staff to the U.S. Secretary of Defense, leads REalloys' advisory board, working closely with REalloys' Board Chair, Stephen duMont, president of GM Defense, and seated Board member, General Jack Keane, former Vice Chief of Staff of the U.S. Army.              

These are the people who've run defense procurement from the inside, the ones who decide who gets qualified, who gets funded, and who actually ends up supplying material into weapons systems.

"This is about building a completely sovereign supply chain from input to finished product, without relying on foreign processing," Joe Kasper, former Chief of Staff to the U.S. Secretary of Defense and now Chairman of REalloys' advisory board, told Oilprice.com. "If the U.S. can't access domestically-processed and manufactured materials, then it does not have a rare earths supply chain at all."

All Systems Go

REalloys' Phase One operations are already turning rare earths into alloys in Ohio, amid an ongoing build-out that will launch next year alongside the Pentagon ban on Chinese-origin rare earths, its plans for Phase Two are a major scale-up.  

In Phase One, REalloys intends to move into North American production of high-purity rare earth oxides that can be turned into metals and alloys, using a mix of recycled magnets and mined feedstock. This is the point at which material is produced in the United States and can move through a traceable supply chain. The capital required is about $75 million, and the buildout has $50 million in cash already allocated. 

By Phase Two, it will all run through the Ohio facility, where REalloys already converts rare earth oxides into metal and alloy form. The buildout increases throughput and expands the range of material it can process, including heavy rare earths like Dysprosium and Terbium. Feedstock is expected to come from both recycled magnets and upstream feedstock supply agreements, like the one from the Tanbreez project, with the material moving through reduction and alloying in-house before leaving as finished product.

Phase Two will also vertically integrate by adding rare earths magnet production to the pipeline. By 2029, the plan is to add magnet manufacturing in Ohio, closing the full circle from processed material into finished components.

Instead of selling metal and alloys into someone else's system, REalloys would produce NdFeB magnets itself from its own integrated solution and keep that margin. 

This is where the economics takes a major leap forward, and it's what prompted Clears Street in April to launch coverage of REalloys

Clear Street initiated coverage of REalloys with a Buy rating and a $35 price target, even though the stock was trading just under $8 at the time of the report, because the current valuation does not reflect what the system could look like once it's running at scale.

The Rare Earths End Game

Rare earths are now facing tightening restrictions on both sides of the Pacific. 

And Washington is scrambling to the point of internal divisions over how fast this entire supply chain can be built. 

Bloomberg reports that internal disagreements are emerging inside the Trump administration after China's export restrictions exposed major U.S. vulnerabilities. The argument is over whether the U.S. should rely on market forces to rebuild the rare earth industry or use aggressive state-backed financing and industrial policy similar to the model China used to dominate the sector.

This is why companies capable of securing even a single strategic link in the non-Chinese rare earth supply chain could become some of the most valuable industrial and defense assets of the next decade.

Other companies looking to influence the rare earth supply chain:

Lynas Rare Earths Ltd. (LYSDY) remains the leading producer of separated rare earth materials outside China. The company has restructured its processing chain to mitigate regulatory risk and expand long-term throughput.

The Kalgoorlie cracking and leaching plant in Western Australia is fully operational, allowing Mt Weld concentrate to be processed domestically and radioactive residues to be managed before shipment. This shift has enhanced supply security while addressing prior Malaysian regulatory concerns.

Apple (AAPL) has emerged as the clear leader among big tech companies in rare earth magnet recycling, having pioneered the use of recycled rare earth elements in consumer electronics as far back as 2019, when it introduced them in the Taptic Engine of the iPhone 11. Today, nearly all magnets across Apple's device lineup are made with 100% recycled rare earth elements, a milestone the company has nearly achieved across its entire portfolio.

In July 2025, Apple formalized its commitment with a landmark $500 million partnership with MP Materials, the only fully integrated rare earth producer in the United States, to source American-made recycled rare earth magnets for hundreds of millions of Apple devices.

Western Digital (WDC), one of the world's largest hard disk drive manufacturers, has taken a leading role in developing scalable rare earth recovery from its own products at end of life. In April 2025, Western Digital announced a successful at-scale pilot program conducted in collaboration with Microsoft, Critical Materials Recycling, and PedalPoint Recycling, in which approximately 50,000 pounds of shredded end-of-life hard drives were processed using an environmentally friendly, non-acid chemical extraction method to recover rare earth oxides alongside gold, copper, aluminum, and steel.

Western Digital views this initiative as a blueprint for transforming the global HDD recycling industry, with the potential to significantly offset U.S. dependence on virgin rare earth mining when scaled worldwide. By partnering with downstream processors and data center operators, Western Digital is helping to establish a feedstock network that feeds recovered rare earths back into the U.S. supply chain.

Alphabet (GOOGL) is the "automated chemist" of the rare earth industry. Through Google DeepMind, they released GNoME, an AI tool that has predicted over 2 million new crystalline structures. This isn't just a science experiment; researchers are currently using this database to find "rare-earth-free" permanent magnets.

The company's stock remains a cornerstone of the tech market, with Google Cloud seeing explosive growth as it becomes the preferred home for many generative AI startups. Google Cloud is also the digital backbone for the Saskatchewan Research Council's new rare earth separation facility, providing the computer vision and AI models needed to automate the complex process of separating the 17 chemically identical rare earth elements.

Every other company on this list is trying to dig something out of the ground. Comstock Inc. (LODE) is going a different direction: recovering critical metals from the mountain of end-of-life solar panels that's about to hit the U.S. market.

Comstock Metals, the company's Nevada-based subsidiary, is building what it describes as the only certified zero-landfill solar recycling solution in North America. Its first industry-scale facility in Silver Springs, Nevada is commissioning now, designed to process up to 100,000 tons—approximately 3.3 million panels—per year. A second site in Clark County is in permitting.

By. Charles Kennedy

Oilprice Intelligence brings you the inside view on where the next gains will come from, breaking down the market's biggest growth driver with analysis from veteran oilmen and experts. Click here to get this crucial intel for free

FORWARD LOOKING STATEMENTS
This publication contains forward-looking statements, including statements regarding expected continual growth of the featured companies and/or industry. The Publisher notes that statements contained herein that look forward in time, which include everything other than historical information, involve risks and uncertainties that may affect the companies' actual results of operations. Factors that could cause actual results to differ include, but are not limited to, changing governmental laws and policies concerning, among other things, recreational and medical cannabis sales, success of the company's proprietary technology, the size and growth of the market for the company's products and services, the company's ability to fund its capital requirements in the near term and long term, pricing pressures, etc. 

IMPORTANT NOTICE AND DISCLAIMER
Neither the author nor the publisher, Oilprice.com, was paid to publish this communication concerning REalloys (ALOY). The owner of Oilprice.com owns shares and/or stock options of the featured company and therefore has an incentive to see the featured company's stock perform well. The owner of Oilprice.com may buy or sell shares of the featured company at any time including at or near the time you receive this communication. This share ownership should be viewed as a major conflict with our ability to be unbiased. This is why we stress that you conduct extensive due diligence as well as seek the advice of your financial advisor or a registered broker-dealer before investing in any securities.

This communication is not, and should not be construed to be, an offer to sell or a solicitation of an offer to buy any security. Neither this communication nor the Publisher purport to provide a complete analysis of any company or its financial position. The Publisher is not, and does not purport to be, a broker-dealer or registered investment adviser. This communication is not, and should not be construed to be, personalized investment advice directed to or appropriate for any particular investor. Any investment should be made only after consulting a professional investment advisor and only after reviewing the financial statements and other pertinent corporate information about the company. Further, readers are advised to read and carefully consider the Risk Factors identified and discussed in the advertised company's SEC, SEDAR and/or other government filings. Investing in securities is speculative and carries a high degree of risk. Past performance does not guarantee future results. This communication is based on information generally available to the public and does not contain any material, non-public information. The information on which it is based is believed to be reliable. Nevertheless, the Publisher cannot guarantee the accuracy or completeness of the information.

INDEMNIFICATION/RELEASE OF LIABILITY
By reading this communication, you acknowledge that you have read and understand this disclaimer, and further that to the greatest extent permitted under law, you release the Publisher, its affiliates, assigns and successors from any and all liability, damages, and injury from this communication. You further warrant that you are solely responsible for any financial outcome that may come from your investment decisions.

TERMS OF USE
By reading this communication you agree that you have reviewed and fully agree to the Terms of Use found here http://oilprice.com/terms-and-conditions If you do not agree to the Terms of Use http://oilprice.com/terms-and-conditions, please contact Oilprice.com to discontinue receiving future communications.

INTELLECTUAL PROPERTY
Oilprice.com is the Publisher's trademark. All other trademarks used in this communication are the property of their respective trademark holders.  The Publisher is not affiliated, connected, or associated with, and is not sponsored, approved, or originated by, the trademark holders unless otherwise stated. No claim is made by the Publisher to any rights in any third-party trademarks.

This press release was distributed on behalf of REalloys (ALOY)

DISCLAIMER:  OilPrice.com is Source of all content listed above.  FN Media Group, LLC (FNM), is a third party publisher and news dissemination service provider, which disseminates electronic information through multiple online media channels. FNM is NOT affiliated in any manner with OilPrice.com or any company mentioned herein.  The commentary, views and opinions expressed in this release by OilPrice.com are solely those of OilPrice.com and are not shared by and do not reflect in any manner the views or opinions of FNM.  FNM is not liable for any investment decisions by its readers or subscribers.  FNM and its affiliated companies are a news dissemination and financial marketing solutions provider and are NOT a registered broker/dealer/analyst/adviser, holds no investment licenses and may NOT sell, offer to sell or offer to buy any security.  FNM was not compensated by any public company mentioned herein to disseminate this press release but was compensated twenty four hundred dollars by REalloys to distribute this release on behalf of the company.  #tickertagpressreleases #pressrelease #stockalerts

FNM HOLDS NO SHARES OF ANY COMPANY NAMED IN THIS RELEASE.

This release contains "forward-looking statements" within the meaning of Section 27A of the Securities Act of 1933, as amended, and Section 21E the Securities Exchange Act of 1934, as amended and such forward-looking statements are made pursuant to the safe harbor provisions of the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995. "Forward-looking statements" describe future expectations, plans, results, or strategies and are generally preceded by words such as "may", "future", "plan" or "planned", "will" or "should", "expected," "anticipates", "draft", "eventually" or "projected". You are cautioned that such statements are subject to a multitude of risks and uncertainties that could cause future circumstances, events, or results to differ materially from those projected in the forward-looking statements, including the risks that actual results may differ materially from those projected in the forward-looking statements as a result of various factors, and other risks identified in a company's annual report on Form 10-K or 10-KSB and other filings made by such company with the Securities and Exchange Commission. You should consider these factors in evaluating the forward-looking statements included herein, and not place undue reliance on such statements. The forward-looking statements in this release are made as of the date hereof and FNM undertakes no obligation to update such statements.

Contact Information:

Media Contact e-mail:  editor@financialnewsmedia.com
U.S. Phone: +1(561)486-1799

OilPrice.com
+44 203 239 4080
info@oilprice.com

View original content:https://www.prnewswire.com/news-releases/the-rare-earth-race-has-a-new-front-runner-302784480.html

SOURCE OilPrice.com

FAQ

What rare earth recycling initiative did Western Digital (WDC) announce in April 2025?

Western Digital announced an at-scale pilot recycling program processing about 50,000 pounds of shredded end-of-life hard drives. The collaboration recovered rare earth oxides plus gold, copper, aluminum, and steel using a non-acid chemical extraction method, demonstrating a scalable model for HDD materials recovery.

How does Western Digital's (WDC) rare earth recovery pilot work?

The pilot processes shredded end-of-life hard drives with an environmentally friendly, non-acid chemical extraction method. This approach recovers rare earth oxides and several valuable metals, suggesting a pathway to industrial-scale HDD recycling that could feed recovered rare earths back into U.S. supply chains.

Why is Western Digital's (WDC) HDD recycling program important for the U.S. rare earth supply chain?

Western Digital sees its HDD recycling initiative as a blueprint for global HDD recycling. According to Western Digital, scaling this model could significantly offset U.S. dependence on virgin rare earth mining by creating a steady recycled feedstock for domestic processors and manufacturers.

Who partnered with Western Digital (WDC) on its April 2025 rare earth recycling pilot?

Western Digital ran the pilot in collaboration with Microsoft, Critical Materials Recycling, and PedalPoint Recycling. These partners helped process roughly 50,000 pounds of end-of-life hard drives, validating the non-acid extraction method and supporting creation of a broader feedstock network for recovered rare earths.

How could Western Digital's (WDC) recycling blueprint impact the global HDD recycling industry?

Western Digital views the pilot as a template to transform global HDD recycling. According to Western Digital, broader adoption could standardize non-acid rare earth extraction, increase recovery of critical metals from retired drives, and strengthen circular supply chains for rare earth materials worldwide.