Rare‑earths angle grows

Neo Performance Materials is moving closer to a Europe-based rare-earth supply chain after commissioning a heavy rare earth separation line in Estonia on April 10. (neomaterials.com) The company said the Silmet line is running at nameplate capacity and has already produced separated terbium and dysprosium process solutions from mixed rare earth carbonate feedstock, with all processing completed in Europe. (neomaterials.com) Those two elements go into high-performance permanent magnets used in electric-vehicle motors, wind turbines, robotics and industrial automation, and Neo said the new line is meant to feed its magnet plant in Narva, Estonia, where commercial production is expected to ramp later in 2026. (neomaterials.com) Europe has been trying to build exactly that kind of local chain. The European Union’s Critical Raw Materials Act sets 2030 targets for 10% of annual needs from extraction, 40% from processing and 25% from recycling inside the bloc. (commission.europa.eu) The same law says no more than 65% of the European Union’s annual need for any strategic raw material at a relevant processing stage should come from a single third country, and the Commission’s December 3, 2025 RESourceEU plan put rare-earth permanent magnets and defence-related raw materials at the front of that effort. (commission.europa.eu) (eur-lex.europa.eu) Neo has spent the past two years building its Estonia platform around Silmet in Sillamäe and a new permanent-magnet factory in Narva. The Narva facility was formally opened on September 22, 2025 after starting operations in May 2025. (neomaterials.com) At that opening, European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen said the Narva plant was “a milestone,” and Neo said the site could satisfy up to 15% of European Union demand for those magnets. (neomaterials.com) Neo has also been telling investors that localization is part of the pitch. In its fourth-quarter 2025 results, released in March 2026, the company said global supply chains were increasingly prioritizing security and localization for critical materials. (neomaterials.com) That does not mean Europe is suddenly self-sufficient in rare earths. The European Commission said in its RESourceEU action plan that China still dominates production capacity from extraction to metal making and magnet manufacturing. (eur-lex.europa.eu) What changed this week is that Neo can now point to an operating heavy rare earth separation line in Europe, not just a policy tailwind or a construction plan. (neomaterials.com)