US rare earths and uranium miner Energy Fuels has agreed to acquire Vacuumschmelze, one of the western world’s few operational permanent magnet manufacturers, for $1.9bn, in a bet on decoupling critical mineral supply chains from China, reports the Financial Times.
Energy Fuels will pay $718m in cash and issue nearly 66mn new shares to Ara Partners, the US private equity firm selling the German group, giving Ara a 19.9% stake in the New York-listed miner, the newspaper said.
The deal extends a wave of consolidation among western companies seeking to build vertically integrated rare earths businesses — from mine to finished magnet — as Washington intensifies efforts to reduce reliance on Beijing, which dominates global rare earth production and processing and has increasingly used that position as a trade lever.
“This is a transformational moment for Energy Fuels and the global rare earth supply chain,” said Ross Bhappu, Energy Fuels president and CEO.
Vacuumschmelze, known as VAC, has operated for more than a century, holds over 400 patents, and counts more than 1,000 customers across automotive, aerospace, defence and semiconductor sectors. It has a Pentagon contract to supply magnet materials to the US national defence stockpile, with deliveries beginning this year, said the Financial Times.
VAC’s existing operations generated $29m in adjusted earnings in 2025, excluding a new South Carolina facility expected to contribute $130m to $140m annually at full capacity.
The acquisition follows Energy Fuels securing $725m in long-term US government financing last week to expand its Utah processing plant and build a domestic rare earth metals and alloys facility.
