Americore Resources (TSXV: AMCO)
Drilling Value in the Silver State
Energy Fuels Inc. (NYSE American: UUUU / TSX: EFR) has agreed to acquire German magnet maker Vacuumschmelze GmbH & Co. KG in a $1.9 billion cash-and-stock deal, a move that would create the West’s most fully integrated rare earth supply chain at a moment when governments are racing to reduce dependence on China.
The transaction marks the latest — and arguably most significant — step in Western efforts to onshore critical mineral processing and manufacturing. It comes just days after G7 leaders pledged to cut reliance on any single supplier for rare earths and permanent magnets to less than 60% by 2030, with an ultimate goal of 50%.
Under the terms, Energy Fuels will pay private equity firm Ara Partners $718 million in cash plus 65.853 million newly issued common shares. Based on Energy Fuels’ June 22 closing price of $16.12, that values VAC at roughly $1.9 billion in equity.
The deal is expected to close in early 2027, pending regulatory approvals. Ara Partners will emerge as one of Energy Fuels’ largest shareholders, with a roughly 20% stake and a board seat.
What Energy Fuels is buying goes well beyond production capacity. It’s buying a century-old company with deep customer relationships and technology that’s hard to replicate.
VAC — short for Vacuumschmelze — has been in business for over 100 years and holds more than 400 patents. It supplies over 1,000 customers, including General Motors, from facilities in Germany, the U.S., Malaysia and other countries. It’s the only commercial producer in both Europe and the U.S. with the full spectrum of customer-qualified NdFeB (neodymium-iron-boron) and SmCo (samarium-cobalt) magnet grades — including the high-coercivity, energy-dense variants required for defense and aerospace applications.
Its Sumter, South Carolina facility — the largest permanent magnet plant of scale in the U.S. — currently has capacity to produce 2,000 tonnes per year of NdFeB magnet block, with a pathway to scale to 12,000 tonnes. Over the past decade, VAC has shipped more than one billion rare earth permanent magnets. Roughly 85% of its output is custom-built to customer specifications, reflecting design-in relationships that average more than 30 years with its largest accounts.
Financially, VAC generated $29 million in adjusted EBITDA in 2025, with order books growing more than 20% year-over-year in 2026. The Sumter facility alone is expected to produce $65–75 million in annual run-rate EBITDA at full 2,000-tonne capacity, and $130–140 million if expanded to 4,000 tonnes. At full 12,000-tonne scale — a scenario tied to demand growth — EBITDA could reach roughly $400 million.
The strategic significance of the deal extends far beyond VAC itself. What makes it transformative is how it fits into Energy Fuels’ broader puzzle.
Energy Fuels already has upstream rare earth mining assets and separation capacity at its White Mesa Mill in Utah. It’s also in the process of acquiring Australian Strategic Materials Ltd., which adds existing commercial-scale rare earth metals and alloys production in South Korea, plus plans for a U.S. metals plant.
Stack VAC on top of that, and you get the first Western company with commercial capabilities across every critical step of the rare earth value chain: mining in Australia, separation in Utah, metals and alloys in Korea and (eventually) the U.S., and finished magnet manufacturing in Europe and South Carolina.
“This is a transformational moment for Energy Fuels and the global rare earth supply chain,” said Ross Bhappu, President and CEO of Energy Fuels. “Together with VAC, we will strengthen global rare earth and magnet supply chains, providing a reliable, secure and diversified source of critical materials from mines to highly valued permanent magnets.”
Governments are putting money behind the vision. Energy Fuels has received a conditional commitment for up to $725 million from the U.S. Office of Strategic Capital — a 20-year loan to accelerate expansion of the White Mesa Mill and construction of the American Metals Plant. VAC holds an existing $41 million grant from the U.S. Department of War for a domestic metal-making facility.
The demand backdrop is supportive. The International Energy Agency projects that demand for NdFeB magnets in North America and Europe will grow by more than 50% over the next decade, driven by electrification, defense modernization and data center buildouts.
