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- Completes acquisition of REE metals producer
- Defining moment in Energy Fuels’ long-term strategy
- Building an integrated mine-to-magnet rare earth platform
- Adding ASM’s operating Korean Metals Plant in Ochang
Energy Fuels (ASX: EF2) has achieved a key milestone in its rare earth element growth strategy with the completion of its $450 million acquisition of Australian Strategic Materials Limited (ASM).
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The acquisition of ASM marks a major milestone in Energy Fuels’, a leading producer of rare earth elements (REE), uranium, and other critical materials, long-term aim to build an integrated mine-to-magnet rare earth platform.
“We are thrilled to welcome the ASM team to Energy Fuels. ASM brings exceptional technical expertise, commercial experience and proven capabilities in rare earth metals and alloys that significantly strengthen our organisation and accelerate our strategy to build a fully integrated, Western mine-to-magnet supply chain,” Energy Fuels president and CEO, Ross Bhappu, said.
“By adding ASM’s operating Korean Metals Plant in Ochang, South Korea, Energy Fuels immediately gains commercial scale metal and alloy production capacity, expanding into one of the most critical and constrained vulnerabilities of global rare earth supply chains.”
Mr Bhappu revealed Energy Fuels also intends to replicate this capability at a new American Metals Plant as market conditions warrant, leveraging the proven technology and operational expertise developed at the Korean Metals Plant.
“Additionally, ASM’s Dubbo project in Australia brings a long-life and strategically important resource of rare earths and other critical minerals to Energy Fuels’ portfolio,” he told shareholders.
“The closing of the ASM acquisition is a defining moment in Energy Fuels’ strategy to become a fully integrated mine-to-magnet rare earth company and demonstrates our team’s successful execution on that vision.
“With ASM’s existing operating facilities, proven technical expertise, and intellectual property now a part of Energy Fuels, we have assembled commercial capabilities at all upstream and midstream stages of the rare earth permanent magnet supply chain.”
The acquisition of ASM adds 1,300 tonnes per year of existing neodymium-iron-boron (NdFeB) alloy production capacity at the Korean Metals Plant, along with existing commercial metallisation capabilities for neodymium-praseodymium (NdPr), and developing metallisation capabilities for dysprosium (Dy) and terbium (Tb).
Mr Bhappu said this directly complements Energy Fuels’ NdPr, Tb, and Dy oxide production and expansion initiatives at its White Mesa Mill in Utah (Mill).
The Korean Metals Plant is currently being expanded to increase NdFeB alloy capacity to 3,600 tonnes per year and is expected to be commissioned as early as the end of 2026. The expansion potentially represents enough NdFeB alloy for more than one million EVs per year.
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