EXETER, N.H. — Tucked inside a New Hampshire office park, a small refinery zaps mining waste with electricity to extract critical minerals needed for key U.S. weapons systems, including missiles used in the Iran war. The company behind it, Phoenix Tailings, recently received a $500 million loan from the Pentagon to ramp up production after starting out eight years ago as a backyard lab seeking a cleaner metal-refining method.
The work has become more urgent as the Iran conflict draws down key munitions such as Tomahawk cruise missiles and THAAD interceptors. While the White House is demanding military contractors speed up production, it is also imposing stricter rules banning them from sourcing critical minerals from China, which controls most of the world's processing capacity.
What the Right Is Saying
The Trump administration frames reducing reliance on Chinese minerals as a national security imperative. A July 20 executive order states: "It is the policy of the United States that not only the finished equipment deployed by our military, but also the critical materials and components necessary to manufacture, maintain, sustain, and repair that equipment, are sourced domestically or from allied nations."
Industry leaders echo that urgency. Anthony Balladon, chief commercial officer and co-founder of Phoenix Tailings, called its planned larger facility "the freedom facility because, ultimately, the purpose of this is to ensure that the entire Western Hemisphere, the United States and its allies are free of Chinese influence within the rare-earth space." He expressed confidence in U.S. companies: "Ultimately, with the right support and partners across the industry, we think we can make it happen."
What the Left Is Saying
Supporters of expanded domestic manufacturing see the Pentagon's backing as a validation of industrial policy aimed at securing supply chains for national security. Phoenix Tailings' approach — refining metal from existing mine waste and recycled magnets rather than new mines — is cited by proponents as a cleaner alternative that avoids some environmental costs of traditional extraction.
Analysts focused on military readiness warn about the stakes. The Center for Strategic and International Studies, a Washington think tank, said renewed fighting with Iran has dug into already diminished stockpiles of advanced missile interceptors including Patriots and THAADs, and warned in May that it could take at least three years to replenish stocks of Tomahawks, Patriots and THAAD interceptors. The analysis also raised concerns about diminished firepower in any potential future conflict with China.
What the Numbers Show
China controls roughly 80% of global mine supply of tungsten — used widely in defense applications — and an even larger share of its processing, according to Brodie Sutherland, CEO of Patriot Critical Minerals Corp., which seeks to explore and mine tungsten in the U.S. The Pentagon has imposed a Jan. 1, 2027 deadline for defense contractors to stop sourcing tungsten from China.
The defense sector needs 50 to 100 tons of samarium each year, but current U.S. capacity is very limited, Balladon said. Phoenix Tailings, among the few companies capable of producing the final metal, has capacity of about 200 kilograms (440 pounds) a year and plans to scale up to roughly 5 tons within three months, with a goal of 120-ton capacity by next year or 2028.
Balladon noted that critical minerals play "an outsized role" in defense systems — a $150 million weapons system won't function if it's missing minerals worth only $20,000 to $30,000. Arnold Magnetic Technologies, which for years relied on China for samarium used in precision-guided missiles such as Tomahawks, now sources from Solvay, a Belgium-headquartered chemical company that restarted processing rare earths at abandoned mining dirt in La Rochelle, France.
The Bottom Line
Companies across the industry say it will take years to build new mines and scale up production of high-powered magnets essential in many high-tech applications. In the meantime, Sutherland said, the Pentagon and its contractors will need to rely on existing inventories, expanded recycling and limited non-China sources — a gap that defense officials acknowledge as they push for faster domestic expansion.