- USA Rare Earth dysprosium oxide and neodymium-praseodymium (NdPr) oxide samples have been produced at commercial grade from recycled magnet scrap at the company’s Wheat Ridge, Colorado facility.
- The feedstock was swarf, the fine scrap generated when NdFeB magnets are machined, sourced from USA Rare Earth’s Stillwater, Oklahoma magnet plant.
- Swarf recycling is projected to supply up to 30% of the company’s future magnetic rare earth oxide feedstock needs.
- The Wheat Ridge oxides are headed to Less Common Metals in the UK for qualification and conversion into rare earth metal and strip cast.
- Parallel Wheat Ridge campaigns are processing Round Top ore from Texas and material from Serra Verde’s Pela Ema mine in Brazil.
- Commercial-grade dysprosium separation outside China remains rare, placing USA Rare Earth among a small group of Western producers with the capability.
USA Rare Earth (Nasdaq: USAR) announced on 14 July 2026 that its hydrometallurgical facility in Wheat Ridge, Colorado, has produced commercial-grade dysprosium oxide and NdPr oxide samples from recycled rare earth magnet scrap. The announcement is posted in full on the USA Rare Earth investor relations newsroom. This USA Rare Earth dysprosium production run is the company’s first built entirely on recycled feedstock rather than freshly mined ore.
How USA Rare Earth Dysprosium Production Closes the Loop on Magnet Scrap
The scrap used is known in the industry as swarf, the dust and shavings generated when neodymium-iron-boron magnets are machined and finished. This batch was sourced from USA Rare Earth’s own Stillwater, Oklahoma magnet manufacturing plant, meaning the company recovered rare earth oxide from waste inside its own supply chain rather than buying in third-party material.
USA Rare Earth said swarf recycling of this kind is projected to support up to 30% of its future magnetic rare earth oxide feedstock needs once the Stillwater plant is running at scale, turning USA Rare Earth dysprosium and NdPr recovery into a recurring feedstock stream rather than a one-off batch. The oxides produced at Wheat Ridge are expected to move to Less Common Metals, the company’s UK subsidiary, for qualification and conversion into rare earth metal and strip cast. LCM’s output is then expected to feed back into USA Rare Earth’s US magnet manufacturing lines, closing a loop between magnet production, scrap recovery and separation.
Why USA Rare Earth Dysprosium Supply Matters for Western Magnet Makers
Dysprosium is added to NdFeB magnets in small quantities to help them retain magnetic strength at high operating temperatures, a requirement for electric vehicle motors, wind turbines, robotics and defence hardware. Separating it at commercial purity is technically demanding, and separated dysprosium oxide supply is overwhelmingly concentrated in China, a dependency documented in USGS rare earth production data. Successful USA Rare Earth dysprosium separation from swarf places the company among a small group of producers demonstrating heavy rare earth capability outside Asia.
Wheat Ridge is a demonstration facility rather than a commercial-scale plant, and it operates continuously to generate process data. Alongside the swarf campaign, the site is processing ore from USA Rare Earth’s Round Top project in west Texas and mixed rare earth material from Serra Verde’s Pela Ema mine in Brazil, an asset USA Rare Earth is acquiring. Those campaigns are intended to produce further varieties of separated oxide, including additional USA Rare Earth dysprosium output from mined ore rather than scrap, in the coming weeks, informing the engineering design of a planned commercial-scale separation facility.
For Western buyers, the practical question is less about a single batch of oxide and more about repeatability. A demonstrated USA Rare Earth dysprosium recycling pathway gives the company a second feedstock route alongside mined ore, which matters for supply security even before the commercial-scale facility is built. What happens next depends on qualification results from LCM and on whether the Round Top and Serra Verde campaigns confirm the same separation performance at Wheat Ridge. USA Rare Earth has not disclosed production volumes from this initial run, and the company’s broader mine-to-magnet strategy still depends on scaling Stillwater, Wheat Ridge and the planned South Carolina magnet and alloy complex before recycled USA Rare Earth dysprosium output becomes a material part of total production.
What did USA Rare Earth produce at Wheat Ridge?
Commercial-grade dysprosium oxide and neodymium-praseodymium oxide samples separated from recycled NdFeB magnet swarf rather than mined ore.
Where did the magnet scrap feedstock come from?
USA Rare Earth’s own magnet manufacturing facility in Stillwater, Oklahoma.
What happens to the oxides after Wheat Ridge?
They are expected to be shipped to Less Common Metals in the UK for qualification and conversion into rare earth metal and strip cast, which then feeds USA Rare Earth’s US magnet lines.
Why is dysprosium separation significant for Western supply chains?
Separated dysprosium oxide production is concentrated in China, and few companies outside Asia have demonstrated the ability to separate it at commercial purity. See USGS rare earth data for the broader supply picture.
What other feedstocks is Wheat Ridge processing?
Parallel campaigns are running on ore from the Round Top project in Texas and material from Serra Verde’s Pela Ema mine in Brazil.
