Reason the US put DoD RE investment on hold for MP and LYC, page-3

The VERY simple thing that is totally overlooked is the basic objective of the tender/s:

“Rare Earth Element (REE) Separation and Processing Project”

Equally basic fact is NO US domestic company has either the IP or expertise to provide that function at any sort of scale, with the exception of BLJV/Lynas & MtP/Shenghe.

"Overview: This Defense Production Act (DPA) Title III project aims to establish one or more secure domestic sources of Rare Earth Element (REE) separation and processing. Solicitations are restricted to domestic sources, as defined in the Defense Production Act of 1950: “A business concern that performs in the United States or Canada substantially all of the research and development, engineering, manufacturing, and production activities required of such business concern under a contract with the United States relating to a critical component or a critical technology item"

"Other: a. Foreign participation: Per Defense Production Act of 1950, execution of the project requires a domestic source as lead. Foreign Nationals (FNs) (including individuals from countries other than the United States who are working for a company considered a “domestic source” as defined in the Defense Production Act of 1950) can be employed by the Prime Recipient or Sub-awardee; however, FNs will be limited to Public Domain information unless the Recipient has obtained the proper License of Technical Assistance Agreement that authorizes disclosure of Classified Military Information (CMI) and/or Controlled Unclassified Information (CUI) to foreign entities pursuant to the Department of State’s ITAR or Department of Commerce’s EAR."

The US company BLJV qualifies as a "domestic source", Lynas employees can be engaged, and can apply for higher classification.

Referred to these tender docs many times here, and been thru them countless times, there is NO reference whatsoever to the source of feedstock, the five separate tenders that together create a magnet supply chain are totally focused on firstly the process and secondly the vital need for commercial sustainability, the relatively tiny needs of the DoD are effectively met as a by-product of this process.

After a decade of waffle the USG finally managed to put the horse before the cart, there is NO mention of mining, or source of basic feedstock, but an inherent understanding that feedstock needs to be commercially viable, NOT a science experiment or glossy PDF.