Can UUUU's Rare Earths Revolutionize EV Magnet Supply Chains?

Energy Fuels Inc. UUUU has marked a major milestone toward reshoring critical mineral supply chains, as the high-purity neodymium-praseodymium (NdPr) oxide produced at its White Mesa Mill in Utah has been converted into commercial-scale rare earth permanent magnets (REPMs) by South Korea-based POSCO International Corporation, a subsidiary of POSCO PKX. The NdPr oxide has met the stringent quality requirements for use in high-temperature drive unit motors that are installed in EV and hybrid vehicles. 

This achievement stems from the collaboration announced in March 2025 between Energy Fuels and POSCO aimed to build a "mine-to-magnet" supply chain independent of China, using rare earth oxides (REOs) produced in the United States. 

With commercial validation now achieved, POSCO and Energy Fuels are expected to pursue negotiations for a long-term supply agreement.

The initial batch of 1.2 metric tons of NdPr oxide supplied by Energy Fuels earlier this year was processed into approximately 3.0 metric tons of REPMs by POSCO. This is sufficient to power approximately 1,500 new electric and hybrid electric vehicles.  The market rollout of new vehicles powered by drive units using Energy Fuels' NdPr oxide is expected soon.

The REOs produced by Energy Fuels were derived from monazite concentrates mined in Florida and Georgia at heavy mineral sand (HMS) operations owned and operated by The Chemours Company CC. Monazite concentrate from Chemours was processed into high-purity NdPr oxide at Energy Fuels' White Mesa Mill. Notably, the mill is the only facility in North America currently licensed and capable of producing high-purity REOs from monazite. Energy Fuels and Chemours also entered into a memorandum of understanding in March, building on their existing four-year association to enhance U.S. domestic rare earth and critical mineral supply chains.

Energy Fuels, meanwhile, has been producing pilot quantities of 99.9% purity dysprosium oxide, a critical 'heavy' rare earth and another key ingredient in NdFeB magnets. It plans to build heavy rare earth oxide capacity in 2026 at the White Mesa Mill.

UUUU’s Price Performance, Valuation & Estimates

Energy Fuels shares have gained 161.4% so far this year compared with the industry’s 15.6% growth.

UUUU is trading at a forward 12-month price/sales multiple of 30.21X, a significant premium to the industry’s 3.03X.

The Zacks Consensus Estimate for Energy Fuels’ 2025 loss is pegged at 33 cents per share. The bottom-line estimate for 2026 is pegged at earnings of one cent per share. The EPS estimates for both years have moved down over the past 60 days.

The company currently carries a Zacks Rank #3 (Hold).

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This article originally published on Zacks Investment Research (zacks.com).

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