Toronto-listed Ucore Rare Metals is aiming to trigger significant new US Department of War funding to derisk a proposed Louisiana commercial rare earth separation plant after demonstrating the effectiveness of its RapidSX technology at a test facility in Ontario, Canada.
The company said the US DoW had accepted its positive report on a two-year test phase, which earned it a $4 million US government grant. Testing benchmarked its RapidSX column-based solvent extraction method against conventional solvent extraction (CSX), using more than 10,000 recovery and purity data points from processing of 1.76 tonnes of heavy, mixed rare-earth element (REE) oxide feedstock.
Ucore said RapidSX matched or exceeded CSX in all key metrics measured, “while showcasing a smaller footprint and greater operational flexibility”.
“It should be noted that this was the expected result given that the chemistry of RapidSX and CSX is exactly the same,” Ucore said. “The RapidSX advantage is in applying the chemistry much more efficiently, resulting in faster separation steps with a smaller physical equipment footprint.
“When coupled together these two attributes yield significant cost and ESG efficiencies across a commercial REE separation facility.”
Toronto investment firm Red Cloud Securities said in an investor note US DoW acceptance of Ucore’s report validated RapidSX as a potentially commercially viable technology and “reinforces sustained US government support”.
“The technology positions it as a more capital-efficient and credible domestic alternative, delivering a 34% reduction in capex and broadly similar opex at US$2.2/kg of REO feedstock, compared to $2.3/kg for CSX,” Red Cloud said.
“With phase one complete Ucore is working on the phase two, $18.4 million award to help de-risk its path to commercial production in Louisiana.”
Ucore wants to make RapidX the centrepiece of a proposed 2500 tonnes per annum total rare earth oxides (TREO) separation and purification plant in Alexandria, Louisiana, which would nominally cost about $95 million to build. The company currently has about C$26 million in the bank, owes $7.7 million and has an enterprise value of circa-$634 million.
Longer-term plans for Ucore could involve ramping up the Louisiana plant to 7500tpa TREO and developing its 100%-owned Bokan-Dotson Ridge rare earths project in Alaska.
“Phase one did more than validate a technology platform,” Ucore chief operating officer Mike Schrider said this week.
“It clarified why RapidSX matters commercially.
“For Louisiana, the message is straightforward: across seven demonstration campaigns RapidSX matched conventional solvent extraction on purity, recovery and product quality while delivering faster extraction and phase disengagement in a smaller operating footprint.
“We believe that combination is exactly what the US rare earth supply chain needs.”
Red Cloud said Ucore’s feedstock and offtake ecosystem continued to build.
“Ucore has signed eight non-binding feedstock MoUs since 2022 to secure potential supplies from multiple regions,” the firm said.
“On the offtake side Ucore has signed two non-binding MoUs, most recently with Vulcan Elements to supply neodymium and dysprosium oxide for Vulcan’s 10,000tpa NDFeB magnet facility in Benson, North Carolina.
“A fully domestic REE supply chain from Ucore’s Louisiana SMC to Vulcan’s North Carolina magnet plant remains on track if testing milestones are met.”
