NEW YORK, June 18, 2026, 10:07 EDT
- Energy Fuels rose about 10% in early New York trading after a conditional U.S. government loan commitment.
- The proposed 20-year financing would back White Mesa Mill expansion and a planned U.S. rare earth metals and alloy facility.
- The move outpaced uranium and rare earth peers, but the loan remains subject to due diligence, final documents and approvals.
Energy Fuels Inc. shares jumped in early trading Thursday after the U.S. government signed a conditional loan commitment of up to $725 million to help the company expand domestic rare earth processing, giving investors a fresh policy-backed reason to mark up the uranium and critical-minerals stock.
The NYSE American-listed shares last traded at $16.84, up 10.1%, after opening at $17.92 and touching an intraday high of $18.17. The move ran ahead of the broader tape: the SPDR S&P 500 ETF Trust was up 0.6%, the Global X Uranium ETF rose 1.2%, while rare-earth peers MP Materials and USA Rare Earth were down 0.5% and 1.2%, respectively.
Why it matters now is simple. Rare earth elements — minerals used in high-strength magnets, electronics and defense systems — have become a supply-chain pressure point for Washington, especially after China curbed some magnet exports. Reuters reported Thursday that the commitment is aimed at boosting U.S. processing and reducing reliance on China.
Energy Fuels said the potential loan would have a 20-year tenor and would support planned expansion of critical-minerals processing at its White Mesa Mill in Utah, along with a planned U.S. rare earth metals and alloy facility. Chief Executive Ross Bhappu said the support fits the company’s goal to be a “vital player” in rare earths and cited the need for “durable, transparent and allied supply chains.” Energy Fuels
The market’s first read is not subtle. A long-dated government-linked loan could lower funding risk for a capital-heavy buildout. It does not solve the harder operating questions: feedstock, permitting, technical execution and whether Energy Fuels can sell separated rare earth products at good enough margins.
The Office of Strategic Capital framed the deal as a midstream push. Midstream processing means the step between mined material and finished magnet inputs. David A. Lorch, the office’s director, called rare earth processing “a national bottleneck,” while Under Secretary Emil Michael said the effort was aimed at closing industrial-base vulnerabilities. U.S. Department of War
The competitive signal is bigger than one stock. Two days earlier, Phoenix Tailings said the same office had conditionally committed $500 million in long-term debt financing for a U.S. rare earth midstream plant, underscoring a broader federal effort to back processing capacity rather than only mining.
Energy Fuels already had some Wall Street support before Thursday’s news. Goldman Sachs analyst Brian Lee last week cut his price target to $21 from $29 but kept a Buy rating, citing stronger U.S. uranium execution and expected production of about 1.6 million pounds of U3O8, a uranium concentrate, by the end of June.
There is also a calendar wrinkle. Thursday is a regular U.S. equity session, with NYSE American core trading running from 9:30 a.m. to 4:00 p.m. Eastern time, but all NYSE markets are closed Friday, June 19, for Juneteenth. That leaves less time for investors to reposition before the long weekend.
The risk paragraph is not small print here. The financing is conditional, and Energy Fuels said it still needs due diligence, final agreements, closing conditions and approvals. The company also flagged risks including commodity price swings, construction and processing delays, permitting, legal challenges, feed availability and whether it can make rare earth products at commercial scale and acceptable costs.
So Thursday’s rally is a funding-risk trade, not a finished-project trade. The loan would give Energy Fuels a stronger hand in the U.S. rare earth race, but the stock will still have to earn the move through execution at White Mesa and proof that policy support can turn into durable cash flow.
