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South Korea
Korean Metals Plant (Energy Fuels; formerly Australian Strategic Materials)
Converts separated rare earth oxides to metal and casts NdFeB alloy for magnet makers: NdPr metal and NdFeB alloy in commercial sale, with a first commercial sale of dysprosium and terbium metal in July 2025.
Points to check
Facts from the sources on this page that a reader should weigh before relying on the company's own figures.
- No annual production tonnage has been published; the named sales are individual orders of 7.2 t, 15 t and 19 t, and 100 kg of samples.
- The expansion to 3,600 t/yr is stated as commissioning as early as the end of 2026, and a further 5,600 t/yr phase appears only in third-party reporting.
- Some of the customer detail (product validation, five specifications, pricing) comes from research that ASM commissioned and paid for, not from ASM's own release.
At a glance
- Founded
- 2022 — Opened by Australian Strategic Materials (ASM) in May 2022, at Ochang. Energy Fuels completed its acquisition of ASM on 28 August 2026, and ASM's shares were delisted from the Australian Securities Exchange.
- Headquarters
- Ochang, South Korea
- Ownership
- Owned by Energy Fuels (NYSE American: UUUU; TSX: EFR; ASX: EF2), which completed its acquisition of Australian Strategic Materials on 28 August 2026; ASM's shares were delisted from the ASX. Energy Fuels has also agreed to acquire Vacuumschmelze (VAC), one of the plant's customers; that transaction had not closed as of September 2026, and Energy Fuels' second-quarter 10-Q says it expects it to close as early as the first quarter of 2027.
- Stage
- Ramping. Opened May 2022; sells NdPr metal and NdFeB alloy to magnet makers in Europe, the US and Asia, with named orders from VAC, Noveon and Magnequench. Alloy capacity is about 1,300 t/yr, expanding to 3,600 t/yr as early as end-2026. No annual production tonnage has been published.
- Listing
- NYSE American: UUUU · TSX: EFR · ASX: EF2
Listed through its parent or partner. Owned by Energy Fuels since 28 Aug 2026.
Investor relations - Revenue
- Not publicly disclosed. This company does not publish revenue and no named third party has published an estimate of it.
Capacity
Each date below links to the document the figure came from. A capacity figure with no source is not on this page.
| What | Figure | Status | As of |
|---|---|---|---|
| NdFeB alloy, installed capacity, Korean Metals Plant | approximately 1,300 t/yr | Operating | Aug 2026 |
| NdFeB alloy, expansion, Korean Metals Plant | 3,600 t/yr, to be commissioned as early as the end of 2026 | Announced | Aug 2026 |
| NdFeB alloy, further expansion phase (third-party report; not in Energy Fuels' releases) | 5,600 t/yr, no date given | Announced | Jul 2026 |
Narrative
Australian Strategic Materials built the Korean Metals Plant at Ochang to turn separated oxides into rare earth metals and NdFeB alloy, the step between a separation plant and a magnet maker, and opened it in May 2022. Its published sales are individual orders rather than an annual volume. In June 2025 ASM reported binding purchase orders from Vacuumschmelze for 7.2 t of NdFeB alloy, delivered in stages from July 2025; deliveries to Noveon Magnetics scheduled across 2025 under an existing 100 t agreement; a completed 19 t order of NdPr metal to Magnequench, part of Neo Performance Materials; and 100 kg of commercial alloy samples to USA Rare Earth, which are samples rather than supply. Research commissioned by ASM adds that the VAC order followed product validation, covered five alloy specifications, and was priced per specification against prevailing oxide prices. In September 2025 ASM reported its first commercial sale of terbium and dysprosium metals, to Neo Performance Materials. Energy Fuels completed its purchase of ASM on 28 August 2026, giving the plant's alloy capacity as about 1,300 t/yr with an expansion to 3,600 t/yr to be commissioned as early as the end of 2026, and said it intends to replicate the plant in the United States as market conditions warrant. Energy Fuels expects oxide from the planned Phase II separation at its White Mesa mill in Utah to be converted to metal and alloy here and at that planned American plant.
Where public sources disagree
- Dysprosium metal: Rare Earth Exchanges (12 August 2026) says the plant already commercially produces NdPr metal, Dy metal and NdFeB alloy. ASM's 2025 annual report release (23 September 2025) reports a first commercial sale of terbium and dysprosium metals to Neo Performance Materials in July 2025. Energy Fuels' completion release (28 August 2026) describes dysprosium and terbium metallization as capabilities it is developing.
- USA Rare Earth: Magnetics Magazine (12 March 2024) reports a supply agreement meant to cover the majority of USA Rare Earth's metal and alloy needs for its Stillwater plant, and research commissioned by ASM (June 2025) describes it as a five-year tolling arrangement covering 60% of USA Rare Earth's alloy requirements; ASM's own June 2025 release reports only 100 kg of commercial alloy samples delivered.
Latest reports
| Period | Published | Report |
|---|---|---|
| Q2 2026 (quarter to 30 Jun 2026) | 2026-08-05 | Energy Fuels Announces Q2-2026 Results |
| Q1 2026 (quarter to 31 Mar 2026) | 2026-05-06 | Energy Fuels Announces Q1-2026 Results |
| FY 2025 (year to 31 Dec 2025) | 2026-02-26 | Energy Fuels Announces 2025 Results and 2026 Guidance |
| Q3 2025 (quarter to 30 Sep 2025) | 2025-11-03 | Energy Fuels Announces Q3-2025 Results |
Across these reports
Energy Fuels' revenue remains uranium-driven, with finished U3O8 production of about 0.8-0.9 million lb per quarter in 2026 and working capital rising from US$298.5M to US$996.0M; quarterly net losses continued. It moved downstream by closing the ASM acquisition (Korean Metals Plant) on 28 Aug 2026 and agreeing to buy VAC, while its heavy rare earth commercial target moved from Q4 2026 to end of 2027 and the Donald FID from early 2026 to as early as Q3 2026.
| Measure | What the reports show |
|---|---|
| Revenue and net loss (US$) | Revenue US$17.7M (Q3 25) → US$65.9M (FY2025) → US$35.8M (Q1 26) → US$25.1M (Q2 26); net loss US$16.7M (Q3 25) → US$86.1M (FY2025) → US$10.8M (Q1 26) → US$33.6M (Q2 26). |
| Uranium (U3O8) finished production | 1,015,000 lb (FY2025) → ~790,000 lb (Q1 26) → 865,000 lb (Q2 26); 2026 guidance 1.5-2.5 million lb processed, unchanged. |
| Uranium (U3O8) sales | 240,000 lb at US$72.38/lb (Q3 25) → 650,000 lb at US$74.21/lb (FY2025) → 510,000 lb at US$70.04/lb (Q1 26) → 310,000 lb at US$80.48/lb (Q2 26); 2026 guidance 1.5-2.0 million lb. |
| Working capital | US$298.5M (30 Sep 25) → US$927.4M (31 Dec 25, after US$700M convertible notes in Oct 2025) → US$956.6M (31 Mar 26) → US$996.0M (30 Jun 26). |
| Rare earth downstream footprint (capacity) | Definitive agreement of 23 Jun 2026 to acquire Vacuumschmelze (VAC) for ~US$1.9B, including the Sumter, SC plant with 2,000 t/yr magnet capacity scalable to 12,000 t/yr (Q2 26); ASM acquisition closed 28 Aug 2026, adding the Korean Metals Plant with 1,300 t/yr NdFeB alloy capacity. No rare earth oxide production volumes disclosed in these reports (Q3 25 report gave 37,000 kg finished NdPr oxide inventory and 29 kg Dy oxide produced through 30 Sep 25). |
Stated dates
| Target | First stated | Now | Status |
|---|---|---|---|
| Commercial heavy rare earth (Dy, Tb) oxide production at White Mesa Mill | commercial-scale expansion operational Q4 2026 (Q3 2025 report, 2025-11-03) | Tb and Dy circuits 'by the end of 2027'; Sm, Eu and Gd circuits by end of 2028; construction started (Q2 2026 report, 2026-08-05). FY2025 report had said 'operational in 2027' for up to 35 t Dy and 12 t Tb per year | moved later |
| Final investment decision on the Donald Project (Australia) | Q4 2025 or early 2026 (Q3 2025 report, 2025-11-03) | 'as early as Q3 2026' (Q2 2026 report); FY2025 report had said 'as early as Q1 2026' | moved later |
| Close of acquisition of Australian Strategic Materials (ASM), owner of the Korean Metals Plant | 'as early as July 2026' (Q1 2026 report, 2026-05-06) | achieved 28 Aug 2026, within the 'end of August 2026' date given in the Q2 2026 report | met |
| Korean Metals Plant expansion to 3,600 t/yr NdFeB alloy | commissioning 'as early as the end of 2026' (ASM completion release, 2026-08-28) | end of 2026 | not yet due |
Figures are as the company reported them, linked to each report. This summarizes what changed between reports; it is not a view on the company or its shares.
Sources
- Sales momentum builds at KMP — Australian Strategic Materials (2025-06-06)
- Delivering an ex-China rare earths supply chain (analyst Chris Drew) — MST Access (MST Financial), research commissioned and paid for by ASM (2025-06-26)
- Korean Metals Plant — Australian Strategic Materials (2026-10)
- 2025 Annual Report highlights — Australian Strategic Materials (2025-09-23)
- Energy Fuels completes acquisition of Australian Strategic Materials — Energy Fuels Inc. (2026-08-28)
- Definitive agreement to acquire VAC — Energy Fuels Inc. (2026-06-23)
- Form 10-Q, quarter ended 30 June 2026 — Energy Fuels Inc. / SEC (2026-08)
- Energy Fuels: the mine-to-magnet pivot — Crux Investor (2026-07-03)
- Energy Fuels wins ASM shareholder approval — Rare Earth Exchanges (2026-08-12)
- ASM produces neo metal alloy at new plant in South Korea — Magnetics Magazine (2024-03-12)
How this page is sourced
Everything here comes from public sources — company filings, annual reports, exchange announcements, government releases and trade press. Every figure is linked to the document it came from and carries the date that document was published, because a capacity number without a date is not a fact, it is a rumor with a decimal point.
What is deliberately absent: material nonpublic information. I have spent more than two decades in this industry and a good deal of what I know about these companies I learned under NDA. Those obligations do not expire and they do not bend for a website. Nothing I have been told in confidence appears here in any form, and nothing on this page — or missing from it — should be read as a signal about what I know privately. I hold NDAs absolutely. It is the reason clients tell me things.
Judgment is the other thing left out on purpose. This page reports what has been published and who published it. Whether a target is credible, whether a ramp will hold, whether a capacity figure survives contact with the plant behind it — that is the work I do for clients, and it does not belong in a free reference page.
Where public sources disagree, I say so rather than picking a winner. Where a figure has not been published, the field says so rather than carrying an estimate. An empty field is information too.
Public filings tell you what a company has said. Whether it holds up is a different question, and the one I get hired to answer.
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