Samarium Costs 346 Times More In U.S. Than China

Samarium sells for as much as 346 times more in North America than in China, highlighting a significant price disparity. This gap underscores the vulnerability of U.S. industries reliant on rare earth metals.

Jet engines, industrial motors, electric vehicles, wind turbines, and medical scanners all depend on rare earth magnets. Most U.S. manufacturers continue to source these magnets from China, where prices remain lower.

Outside China, dysprosium costs five times as much, and yttrium is more than 100 times more expensive. Japan, which has already faced supply disruptions, is seeking U.S. assistance before its yttrium reserves are depleted by year-end.

REalloys (NASDAQ: ALOY) is positioning itself to benefit from a critical shortage in the U.S. rare earth supply chain. The company operates a facility in Euclid, Ohio, producing rare earth metals, alloys, and magnet materials.

China controls over 90% of the world’s 210,000 tonnes of capacity for metallization, a process essential for producing rare earth alloys. Canaccord Genuity analysts describe this as a major blind spot in Western supply chain development.

Canaccord expects magnet plant capacity outside China to more than triple to about 70,000 tonnes by 2030. However, non-Chinese metal and alloy capacity is projected to reach only 38,000 tonnes, insufficient to meet demand.

REalloys has secured non-Chinese feedstock for expansion, including rights to approximately 80% of the Saskatchewan Research Council’s output. It also holds a 15-year offtake agreement with Critical Metals Corp. for its Tanbreez project in Greenland.

Under a Defense Logistics Agency contract, REalloys is designing a 300-tonne-per-year facility for samarium and gadolinium metal, materials not produced commercially in the U.S. The company has $122.4 million in cash and is fully funded for its expansion.