
A physics graduate with no mining résumé helped turn a backyard reactor into a rare-earth business. His wager is that America’s missing industrial link can be rebuilt with cleaner chemistry, patient capital, and a team willing to learn in public.
The Massachusetts startup began with buckets of mine waste in a backyard. Seven years later, it has commercial metal shipments, a strategic trading partner, and a conditional $500 million government loan - but the real test is whether a tiny refinery can become industrial infrastructure on schedule.