REalloys’ breakthrough could eliminate hydrofluoric acid from rare‑earth metallization

REalloys (NASDAQ: ALOY) announced a successful demonstration of a patent-pending, hydrofluoric-acid-free (HF-free) fluorination process that produces metallization-grade rare earth fluorides from rare earth oxides, advancing its proprietary metallization technology and supporting a scalable North American rare earth supply chain.

Independent laboratory testing confirmed the resulting rare earth fluoride material contained just 0.34 wt% oxygen—primarily from surface-absorbed water—well below the typical <1 wt% oxygen specification for metallization-grade feedstock. The company said the results show rare earth fluorides suitable for metal production can be produced without hydrofluoric acid, a hazardous reagent long used in conventional fluorination.

REalloys said the HF-free process could enable safer, more scalable rare earth metallization by removing the need for extreme containment, specialized handling and the heavy environmental and regulatory controls tied to hydrofluoric acid. The company also highlighted potential cost reductions, simplified plant infrastructure and lower compliance burdens, which it said would strengthen resilient, Western-aligned rare earth processing capacity.

REalloys has filed patent applications covering aspects of the HF-free chemistry and process design as part of its broader rare earth metallization technology portfolio.

Rare earth fluorides are an essential intermediate for producing heavy rare earth metals such as dysprosium, terbium and neodymium, which are used in high-performance permanent magnets for defense and clean-energy applications. REalloys framed the technology as a way to reduce dependence on processing methods concentrated in China and to help enable scalable rare earth metal production in North America.

"Hydrofluoric acid has been necessary for rare earth metallization, until now," Lipi Sternheim, CEO of REalloys, said. "We believe this breakthrough can significantly reduce the environmental burden, safety risks, and costs traditionally associated with this critical step of rare earth processing while helping enable cleaner rare earth metal production in the United States as an alternative to the environmentally intensive processing methods that dominate rare earth production in China."

REalloys said it will continue developing the HF-free process alongside its integrated mine-to-magnet platform, which includes the Hoidas Lake rare-earth asset in Saskatchewan, partnerships for allied feedstock and recycling, collaboration with the Saskatchewan Research Council, and downstream manufacturing in Euclid, Ohio that supplies defense and clean-energy markets.

More information is posted at www.Realloys.com