Vancouver-based rare earths developer Tactical Resources (TSXV: RARE) is on track to debut on the Nasdaq through a business combination with Plum Acquisition Corp. III, a special purpose acquisition company (SPAC), with an implied enterprise value of $589 million. The transaction, set to close within the year, will accelerate the firm’s push to establish a domestic rare earth processing hub in Texas and capture growing demand for U.S.-sourced critical minerals.
The merger has secured overwhelming shareholder approval from both entities and received final court clearance. Upon completion, Tactical will trade under the ticker symbol TREO and delist from the TSX Venture Exchange as well as over-the-counter markets. The company has also lined up up to $140 million in financing—$40 million in convertible notes and a $100 million standby equity commitment—to fund project development and capacity expansion following the listing.
At the heart of Tactical’s growth thesis is its Peak rare earth project in West Texas, southeast of El Paso and near USA Rare Earth’s Round Top deposit. Unlike most domestic rare earth ventures, which face a decade or more of mine construction and permitting, the Peak asset operates on a feedstock-first model built around 4 million tonnes of rare earth-bearing tailings stockpiled at the active Sierra Blanca quarry. The site already has full infrastructure in place—including power, water, rail access and crushing equipment—and holds existing operating permits, allowing Tactical to skip lengthy new mining approval cycles and move directly into processing.
The project employs a direct-leach extraction process that streamlines production compared with conventional hard-rock rare earth operations, with a focus on high-value heavy rare earth oxides such as dysprosium, terbium and yttrium. These materials are critical inputs for permanent magnets used in electric vehicles, defense systems and advanced robotics.
Tactical is pursuing a processing-first roadmap: it will first build a demonstration plant to validate separation technology, then scale operations through modular expansion while negotiating offtake agreements with downstream customers.
The planned Nasdaq debut comes as Washington ramps up policy support to onshore critical mineral supply chains and cut reliance on overseas processing capacity. As one of the few near-production rare earth assets in the U.S., Tactical is positioned to benefit from federal incentives, and management intends to apply for relevant government funding programs as the project advances.
“A Nasdaq listing unlocks far broader access to capital and strategic partnerships at a moment when U.S. domestic rare earth supply has never been more critical,” said Ranjeet Sundher, chief executive officer of Tactical Resources. “With our existing quarry, stockpiled material and proven permitting, we are years ahead of the typical rare earth development timeline to deliver homegrown heavy rare earth capacity.”
