ReElement, Mitsubishi Materials team up to advance critical mineral supply chains

American rare earth refiner ReElement Technologies has teamed up with Japan’s Mitsubishi Materials Corporation (MMC) on the development of a circular minerals supply chain to serve both markets.

The collaboration would see MMC make an undisclosed investment in ReElement, a subsidiary of American Resources Corporation (NASDAQ: AREC).

The partnership aligns both companies in advancing scalable, economically viable solutions for critical mineral supply chains across the United States and allied nations, ReElement said in a press release on Tuesday.

Scalable solutions

Together, the companies will aim to develop integrated, scalable solutions that enhance supply chain resilience while supporting domestic and allied manufacturing capabilities.

In the US, they will focus on supporting ReElement’s refining operations through feedstock sourcing, tolling and offtake opportunities, enabling the continued expansion of domestic refining capacity.

In Japan, the parties will jointly evaluate opportunities to commercialize rare earth and critical mineral recycling solutions, leveraging MMC’s established recycling infrastructure and ReElement’s proprietary chromatographic refining platform.

ReElement has developed a patented chromatography-based separation and purification technology that it says enables the efficient processing of a wide range of feedstocks — including recycled materials, mine waste and primary ores — into high-purity critical mineral products.

For MMC, the collaboration is part of the group’s efforts to expand its secondary smelting operations, supporting its plans to commercialize rare earth recycling in Japan.

“We are honored to partner with Mitsubishi Materials Corporation, a global leader in materials innovation and resource circulation,” ReElement CEO Mark Jensen said in a news release. “Their commitment and long-term vision reinforce the importance of building secure and resilient critical mineral supply chains across the United States and allied nations.”

Deals and expansions

The collaboration with MMC follows a series of initiatives and investments to expand ReElement’s domestic operations.

Last year, the company said it would expand the operational equipment at its Noblesville plant in Indiana to meet surging demand for domestically sourced rare earth oxides. It also entered a $1.4 billion partnership with Vulcan Elements and the US government to scale the companies’ development of a domestic rare earth magnet supply chain.

ReElement’s platform is designed to be modular, scalable and environmentally responsible, with reduced capital intensity, lower operating costs and minimized environmental impact, it said.

The refining-first approach addresses one of the most significant bottlenecks in the global critical mineral supply chain — the ability to economically separate and purify materials at scale.

“By combining MMC’s expertise in feedstock sourcing and recycling with ReElement’s refining-first platform, we are advancing a scalable and economically viable solution to the midstream bottleneck — one that supports both national security and long-term industrial competitiveness,” CEO Jensen said.