POSCO Holdings, Inc.’s PKX subsidiary, POSCO International, has signed an agreement with ReElement Technologies Corporation to establish a joint venture for rare earth separation and purification production in the United States.
The companies plan to jointly invest $200 million to build a U.S.-based rare earth processing plant with an annual production capacity of 6,000 tons and later develop an integrated permanent magnet manufacturing complex. POSCO will lead the joint venture as the majority shareholder, while ReElement will contribute its proprietary separation and purification technologies.
The project will initially establish a production system with an annual capacity of 3,000 tons before expanding to 6,000 tons in the second phase. Pilot production is targeted for the fourth quarter of 2027, with full-scale commercial production expected in 2028.
The facility will produce key rare earth materials used in electric vehicles (EVs), robotics and AI data centers, including neodymium (Nd), praseodymium (Pr), dysprosium (Dy) and terbium (Tb) oxides. The companies also plan to expand into permanent magnet manufacturing using these materials.
The investment is expected to strengthen U.S. critical minerals supply chains and support POSCO Group’s broader strategy to build an integrated value chain spanning raw material sourcing, rare earth processing, permanent magnet production and EV traction motor core manufacturing.
Per ReElement, the partnership will combine its advanced separation and purification technology with POSCO International’s global network and industrial expertise to create an integrated production system aimed at addressing critical supply chain gaps.
Shares of PKX have gained 56.5% in the past year against the industry’s 1.8% decline.
PKX Zacks Rank & Key Picks
PKX currently carries a Zacks Rank #4 (Sell).
Some better-ranked stocks in the Conglomerates space are ITT Inc. ITT, Mitsui & Co., Ltd. MITSY and Griffon Corporation GFF. ITT, MITSY and GFF carry a Zacks Rank #2 (Buy) each at present. You can see the complete list of today’s Zacks #1 (Strong Buy) Rank stocks here.
The Zacks Consensus Estimate for ITT’s current-year earnings is pegged at $7.91 per share, indicating a 17.7% year-over-year increase. Its earnings beat the Zacks Consensus Estimate in all of the trailing four quarters, with the average earnings surprise of 5.8%.
The Zacks Consensus Estimate for MITSY’s current-year earnings is pegged at $47.08 per share, indicating a 21.84% year-over-year decrease. Shares of MITSY have gained 63.4% over the past year.
The Zacks Consensus Estimate for GFF’s current fiscal-year earnings is pegged at $5.17 per share. Its earnings beat the Zacks Consensus Estimate in three of the trailing four quarters and missed once, with the average earnings surprise of 3.3%.
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