One of the country's few rare earth processing plants opens in Exeter

On a chilly October afternoon, a line formed outside an unassuming industrial building in Exeter. The scene had all the elements of a fall festival: live music, carnival games, a food truck.

But plush animals and popcorn were not the big draw. It was the chance to tour Phoenix Tailings’ new warehouse, which the company is aiming to turn into one of the largest rare earth mineral processing facilities in the United States.

Rare earth elements aren’t all that rare — they’re found in many places in small quantities. But they are hard to extract from the earth and turn into something usable. And they’re valuable in the U.S. economy, used to create special magnets that go into in everything from medical devices to F-35 fighter jets to electric vehicles.

The Phoenix Tailings facility in