{
  "id": 19527557,
  "title": "USA Rare Earth begins Brazil shipments to Pentagon",
  "url": "https://urgent.news/2026/11/11/usa-rare-earth-begins-brazil-shipments-to-pentagon",
  "topic": "finance",
  "section": "Finance & Markets",
  "published": "2026-11-11T16:47:50.000Z",
  "source": {
    "name": "Mining.com",
    "slug": "mining-com",
    "url": "https://www.mining.com/usa-rare-earth-begins-brazil-shipments-to-pentagon/"
  },
  "original_language": "en",
  "account": "USA Rare Earth, a company listed on Nasdaq under the ticker USAR, has commenced shipments of mixed rare earth carbonate (MREC) to a Pentagon-funded special purpose vehicle, US SIIE LLC, from its Serra Verde's Pela Ema operations in Brazil. This marks the beginning of commercial-scale shipments of MREC, with the first sales set to occur this month, under a 15-year take-or-pay offtake agreement the company holds with the US government. The agreement guarantees minimum prices for rare earths critical for producing advanced permanent NdFeb magnets, essential components for clean energy systems, generators, and electronics.\n\nThras Moraitis, USA Rare Earth's CEO, highlighted that the company is the only scaled producer outside Asia of heavy rare earths used in these magnets. The start of commercial-scale shipments to the offtake partner signifies a significant milestone for USA Rare Earth and the broader initiative to establish a dependable, responsible, and non-China supply chain for heavy rare earths that fuel the modern economy.\n\nThis development comes as Brazil and numerous Western governments are taking measures to safeguard their mineral resources to develop them domestically. The Brazilian federal government classified rare earths as a high-priority critical mineral in early November. The neodymium, praseodymium, dysprosium, and terbium required for magnet production are being sourced from Serra Verde's Phase 1 expansion. The company's production is projected to reach an initial run rate of 4,000 tons per year (tpa) TREO by Q2 2027.\n\nShares in USA Rare Earth experienced a 10.8% increase to $8.78 apiece by midday on Wednesday, in New York, valuing the company at $3.1 billion. The expansion of USA Rare Earth's Serra Verde operations in the state of Goiás, Brazil, is driving this commercial shipping. The optimization and expansion program's stage 1 was completed and commissioned within budget and on schedule, leading to the resumption of commercial-scale production with volumes and product quality delivered as planned.\n\nRicardo Grossi, USA Rare Earth's head of upstream in Brazil, expressed that the company is ramping up production, and the optimized process is performing as anticipated, meeting all contractual obligations. Grossi further stated that the company aims to continuously enhance its execution and remains focused on increasing production and shipments in a sustainable and responsible manner. The company aims to ramp up annual production to 6,400 tonnes of TREO by the end of 2027 and is evaluating a possible Phase II expansion that could double output.\n\nUnder the offtake agreement, USA Rare Earth captures the current premium for heavy rare earths outside of China, with pricing neodymium and praseodymium at $110/kg, dysprosium at $575/kg, and terbium at $2,050/kg. The floor prices assist in mitigating cash flow risks and incentivizing investment in rare earth upstream production while safeguarding production against any non-economic supply from other producers. USA Rare Earth receives 70% of the non-China market price above the applicable floor, minus a fixed separation cost. Post-separation, the supply earns revenue from remaining valuable heavy rare earth elements, including yttrium.",
  "summary": "Shipments from Serra Verde mark a milestone in a 15-year agreement aimed at reducing US reliance on China for rare earth elements.",
  "key_points": [],
  "editors_take": null,
  "illustration": null,
  "coverage": {
    "outlets": 1,
    "also_reported_by": []
  },
  "ai_generated": true,
  "disclaimer": "Summaries, key points and the editor’s take are written by software from other outlets’ reporting and may contain errors — always check the linked original."
}