POSCO International–ReElement JV

A planned US rare earth separation and refining joint venture led by Korea's POSCO International, using ReElement Technologies' chromatographic process, targeting about 3,000 t/yr of separated oxides (NdPr, Dy, Tb) in 2028 and 6,000 t/yr by 2030; site not yet announced.

Points to check

Facts from the sources on this page that a reader should weigh before relying on the company's own figures.

As of September 4, 2026, the partners were still finalizing site selection and no location had been named.
No construction start has been reported, and no government funding for the joint venture has been announced.
The ownership split and the contributions of each partner to the US$200M have not been disclosed; the second US$100M is reserved for expansion depending on market demand.
The September 2025 offtake release does not state whether the arrangement is binding or give minimum quantities.
Metallization, magnet manufacturing and recycling are named in scope without capacities or dates.

At a glance

Founded: 2026 — Joint venture agreement signed May 21, 2026, in Washington, D.C., following a September 18, 2025 MOU. POSCO International traces to Daewoo Industrial (1967), was acquired by POSCO under a 2010 contract and took its current name in March 2019.
Headquarters: Joint venture location not announced (United States); POSCO International: Incheon (Songdo), South Korea; ReElement Technologies: Indiana, USA
Ownership: Joint venture; POSCO International to be majority shareholder and lead management, ReElement Technologies (private; American Resources Corp, NASDAQ: AREC, holds a minority stake in ReElement) the technology partner; exact split not disclosed. POSCO Holdings announced in August 2026 a reduction of its POSCO International stake from 70.71% to 50%.
Stage: Early stage. A joint venture agreement with a planned US$200M was signed in May 2026, targeting a Q4 2027 pilot and 3,000 t/yr of separated oxides in 2028, but as of September 2026 no site had been announced and no construction reported.
Listing: KRX (KOSPI): 047050
Listed through its parent or partner. POSCO International holds the majority.
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
Separated rare earth oxides (NdPr oxide plus Dy and Tb oxides), Phase 1	about 3,000 t/yr target in 2028; pilot production Q4 2027	Announced	May 2026
Separated rare earth oxides, Phase 2 (all feedstocks)	about 6,000 t/yr target by 2030	Announced	May 2026
Metallization and permanent magnet manufacturing	planned; no capacity stated	Announced	May 2026

Narrative

POSCO International, the Korean trading and energy company listed on the Korea Exchange (047050) and controlled by POSCO Holdings, signed a memorandum of understanding with Indiana-based ReElement Technologies on September 18, 2025, to pursue an integrated rare earth and permanent magnet complex in the United States. On September 29, 2025, ReElement and POSCO International America announced a long-term offtake arrangement for separated rare earth oxides (Dy, Y, Tb and NdPr) scaling to over 3,000 t through 2030; neither release described its terms as binding. On May 21, 2026, in Washington, D.C., the two companies signed an agreement to form a joint venture for rare earth separation and refining, which POSCO calls the Boiler Maker Project. POSCO International is to be the majority shareholder and lead management, and ReElement contributes its chromatographic separation and purification technology; the ownership split has not been disclosed. The partners describe a combined investment of US$200 million: US$100 million for plant construction, equipment and initial operating costs, and US$100 million reserved for expansion depending on market demand. Announced targets are about 3,000 t per year of separated rare earth oxides (NdPr oxide plus dysprosium and terbium oxides) in Phase 1 in 2028 and about 6,000 t per year in Phase 2 by 2030, with pilot production in Q4 2027. In March 2026, before the agreement, POSCO had described a 3,000 t per year plant with full-scale production in the second half of 2027. The stated scope also includes light and heavy rare earth metallization, permanent magnet manufacturing and recycling, without capacities or dates. Feedstock is to be sourced through a joint task force from domestic and international mined and recycled material, with Southeast Asia named as a source. As of September 2026, the partners had not announced a site or any government funding for the venture, and no construction had been reported. ReElement separately operates refining facilities at Noblesville and Marion, Indiana, which the joint venture releases do not identify as the venture's site.

Where public sources disagree

Production timing: POSCO Newsroom (Mar 24, 2026) gave full-scale production of the 3,000 t/yr plant in the second half of 2027; the POSCO Newsroom release of May 27, 2026 and Korea Herald (May 22, 2026) give pilot production in Q4 2027 and full-scale production in 2028.
Ownership: the POSCO Newsroom (May 27, 2026) and Manufacturing Dive (May 27, 2026) say POSCO International will be the majority shareholder; the Korea Times and Korea Herald (May 22, 2026) say largest shareholder; Metalnomist (Sept 4, 2026) says ownership details have not been disclosed.
Site type: Korea Economy TV (Feb 12, 2026) described the project as a brownfield investment acquiring an existing facility; the May 2026 releases name no site and do not say whether it is brownfield or greenfield.

Sources

POSCO: US rare earth magnet complex — POSCO Newsroom (2026-05-27)
ReElement-POSCO JV release — ReElement Technologies (ACCESS Newswire) (2026-05-22)
JV site still being finalized — Metalnomist (2026-09-04)
Posco Int'l US refining plant — The Korea Herald (2026-05-22)
POSCO bets on US supply chain — The Korea Times (2026-05-22)
ReElement, Posco ink JV — Manufacturing Dive (2026-05-27)
POSCO rare earth value chain — POSCO Newsroom (2026-03-24)
ReElement-POSCO MOU — ReElement Technologies (ACCESS Newswire) (2025-09-18)
ReElement-POSCO offtake — ReElement Technologies (ACCESS Newswire) (2025-09-29)
POSCO Int'l US plant (Korean) — Seoul Economic Daily (2026-05-24)
POSCO US rare earth production (Korean) — Korea Economy TV via Daum (2026-02-12)
POSCO Holdings stake sale — Asia Economy (2026-08-07)
ReElement newsroom — ReElement Technologies (2026-10-16)
POSCO International history — Wikipedia (2026-10-16)

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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