Pat Ryan, CEO of Ucore Rare Metals Inc., doesn’t pull any punches when describing the global race for critical minerals. In a recent interview with InvestorNews, he likened China’s grip on rare earth mineral processing to the oil monopoly once wielded by Rockefeller. "If I said to you today that China controls 95% of oil refining in the world, you’d be shocked. Of course, they don’t. But they do control 95% of rare earth critical mineral processing. People should be shocked. We’ve got to change that."
Ryan’s rallying cry comes as the United States intensifies its efforts to secure access to the minerals that are the lifeblood of everything from electric vehicles to advanced defense systems. The past week has seen a flurry of activity, from new investments in U.S. rare earth refineries to targeted grants for African mining projects and diplomatic missions to resource-rich countries. All of these moves share a common thread: reducing America’s reliance on China for critical mineral supply chains.
At the heart of this push is Ucore’s ambitious refinery project in Louisiana. Slated to begin commissioning by mid-2026, the facility is advancing in three stages, starting at 2,500 tons per year and scaling up to a potential 12,000 tons annually. The refinery will process both light and heavy rare earths, including strategic materials like samarium and gadolinium—minerals that have recently been subject to export restrictions by Beijing. "We’ll be producing heavier rare earth products from that facility as well as light rare earths," Ryan explained, underscoring the breadth and importance of the operation.
The scale of government support for Ucore is unprecedented in the sector. Since 2022, the company has received about $22.4 million in Pentagon grants, structured as an OTA grant. "It is grant money, which is obviously very nice to our shareholders. There’s no dilution," Ryan noted. Louisiana has sweetened the pot with $15 million in tax incentives, while Canadian programs have kicked in an additional $4.3 million. The Louisiana Economic Development agency is even helping with team recruitment for the facility, which Ryan described as "no small feat."
Investor enthusiasm has matched this government backing. Ucore’s $15.5 million private placement, initially capped at $10 million, was oversubscribed in just 48 hours following the Pentagon announcement. "We cut it off at that point, but we could have gone further," Ryan said, attributing the demand to a growing recognition that refining, not mining, is the true bottleneck in the rare earth supply chain. "We’ve got engineers working on the process flow sheets for Louisiana… People are recognizing: refining is the bottleneck. Ucore is on the forefront, taking proven chemistry and making it better—bringing a boutique approach with 21st-century digital manufacturing techniques."
Ucore’s 80,000-square-foot facility in Louisiana is already taking shape. "A lot of civil site work is done. We’ve created engineering and environmental baselines. We’ve done 3D scans of the building so we can copy and paste what we’ve done in Kingston into Louisiana," Ryan shared. The company’s approach is as much about innovation as it is about scale: Ucore recently announced a strategic partnership with Metallium Limited, leveraging Metallium’s Flash Joule Heating process to process unconventional feedstocks like e-waste and magnet scrap. "Metallium has a Flash Joule Heating process that allows that. They can process e-waste into a soluble form… This broadens the net," Ryan explained. "We want to cast a wider net, with a focus on heavies like dysprosium and terbium. The technology agreement with Metallium allows us to do that."
Beyond engineering, Ucore is moving swiftly to secure critical equipment, ordering long-lead items under a DPAS contract that gives priority status to the project. The company’s ambitions stretch beyond the Louisiana facility; with White House-level engagement and customers lining up, Ryan hinted, "We’re realizing we’ll need to go beyond Plant #1 to Plant #2 very shortly." The U.S. Department of Defense has also been actively involved, recently holding a quarterly meeting on-site in Louisiana and expressing strong support for the ecosystem developing there.
But the American push for critical minerals doesn’t stop at home. On September 19, 2025, U.S. officials arrived in Yaoundé, Cameroon, to meet with local authorities about mining projects that have piqued Washington’s interest. The Nkamouna project, led by Phoenix Mining, is under scrutiny and faces the threat of permit withdrawal. This diplomatic effort is part of a larger U.S. strategy to establish a "critical minerals task force"—a new initiative under former President Donald Trump focused on securing mineral supply chains and reducing dependence on China.
Meanwhile, the United States is also looking to Africa’s Copperbelt to diversify its sources. On September 18, the U.S. Trade and Development Agency (USTDA) awarded a $1.4 million grant to Metalex Africa, a subsidiary of U.S.-based Metalex Commodities. The grant will fund a feasibility study for expanding the Kazozu copper and cobalt mine in Zambia’s North-Western province. The study will assess whether the mine can produce up to 25,000 additional metric tonnes of copper and cobalt concentrates annually, which would be shipped to the U.S. and its allies. According to USTDA acting director Thomas R. Hardy, "USTDA’s partnership with Metalex will help ensure that U.S. industries can reliably access the inputs they need to remain secure, competitive, and prepared to meet the challenges of the future."
The USTDA’s assistance is designed to prepare projects for financing by other institutions, including the private sector, but will not directly fund extraction and processing at the mine. Metalex chief executive Ayo Sopitan called the grant a milestone, emphasizing its role in expanding resources and defining project phases. The Kazozu project is a joint venture with Zambian company Terra Metals, and forms part of a broader U.S. strategy to build the Lobito Corridor—a transport and trade network linking Angola, Zambia, and the Democratic Republic of Congo as a strategic alternative to Chinese-backed infrastructure.
During Joe Biden’s presidency, the U.S. International Development Finance Corporation committed about $550 million to railway and port upgrades in the region, while the Millennium Challenge Corporation is funding rural road and agriculture improvements in Zambia. U.S.-based KoBold Metals, backed by investors including Bill Gates and Jeff Bezos, has pledged to anchor its Mingomba copper and cobalt project along the Lobito railway. The combined push, which continues under the Trump administration, is aimed squarely at loosening China’s grip on global mineral supply chains.
Chinese companies currently maintain near-total control over processing and refining capacity for minerals such as cobalt, which are essential for electric vehicle batteries, military equipment, and electronics. Beijing’s dominance has prompted the U.S. to seek direct sources of critical minerals, and the recent investments and diplomatic efforts are the clearest sign yet that Washington is determined to shift the balance.
As governments, companies, and investors rally to rewire the global critical minerals supply chain, the stakes could hardly be higher. The coming years will reveal whether these bold moves are enough to break China’s near-monopoly and secure a more resilient future for American industry.
