A planned US rare earth magnet factory has big China footprint

The US is making a major investment in ramping up domestic production of rare earth magnets to reduce its reliance on China. But in a reminder of how entrenched China is in the global r are earth supply chains, the company that Washington has tapped for a new factory has a big China footprint. The Department of Defense this week announced a $94.1 million investment in E-VAC Magnetics to fund its construction and operation of a major rare earth permanent magnet factory in the US. E-VAC is part Vacuumschmelze, a century-old German company and the West's largest producer of rare…