Although China is the dominant global supplier of rare earth elements, that landscape is poised to change in the coming years, backed by companies such as
Ucore Rare Metals Inc. (Ucore) (
TSXV:UCU,
OTCQX:UURAF,
Forum).
Rare earth elements (REE) are a collection of 17 elements and are integral components of over 200 products such as cellphones, computer hard drives, electric hybrid vehicles and are also used in various industrial applications, clean energy, aerospace, automotive and defense.
The collection of metals is widely regarded as a matter of national security due to their integral roles in the manufacturing of products. Historically, China has been responsible for most REE supply — at 85 per cent — but the shift to restoring REE in North America is rising. The company is poised to make this a reality thanks to its wholly owned subsidiary’s (
Innovation Metals Corp. or IMC) RapidSX™ technology, which could be a game-changer in bringing REE production back to North America.
With that in mind, Ucore closed out 2021 with an announcement that independent third-party expert evaluation testing of RapidSX™ technology is now complete and the independent report describing the findings is expected in January 2022.
Ucore Rare Metals provides Independent Evaluation Update RapidSX™ The independent evaluation test program, conducted by IMC’s laboratory partner, Kingston Process Metallurgy, comes following a very successful initial extraction-rate testing program in summer 2021. The purpose of the most recent evaluation program is to independently validate the approach being taken and to quantify the effects of underlying phenomenon being exploited using the RapidSX™ columns.
Once an independent techno-economic study and design of a commercial-scale REE separation facility has been done, both Ucore and IMC expect that the RapidSX™ technology will be ready for commercial adoption and implemented into Ucore’s Alaska Strategic Metals Complex development program by Q2 2022; this will also include IMC’s roll-out of a commercial licensing model by the end of next year.
"Dr. Gareth Hatch and the entire IMC team have put forth a tremendous effort in recent months towards the commercial realization of the RapidSX rare earth separation technology; a technology that we believe is the critical link in re-establishing a North American rare-earth-element supply chain," Pat Ryan, Chairman and CEO of Ucore Metals, said in a release. "Our belief is led by our actions, and we have supported and funded IMC's efforts for the development of RapidSX and the coordinated plan for its subsequent deployment into the first modern rare-earth separation plant in North America, the Alaska SMC – on schedule for production of individual rare-earth oxides in H1-2024."
Hardware Design and Demo Plant Layout for RapidSX™ Completed In addition to the independent evaluation, Ucore also said in the press release that extensive process and hardware design activities were also completed. As such, the commissioning of the RapidSX demonstration-scale plant is now slated to begin in the first quarter of 2022.
The Investment Corner Ucore’s update puts it in a good position to continue advancing its coordinated ALASKA2023 Plan, which also includes Strategic Metals’ Complex engineering, feedstock sourcing and testing, product offtake arrangements, metal and alloy making strategic alliances, and solidification of funding sources.
In a nutshell, the ALASKA2023 Plan aims to complete a US$35 million rare earth metals processing plant in Ketchikan, located in Southeast Alaska, where Ucore first plans to deploy the RapidSX separation technology.
The Alaska SMC is a rare earth separation and processing facility that will first process mixed rare earth elements from US-allied suppliers into commercial purity rare earth oxides for permanent-magnet applications. The facility will use the RapidSX separation technology and is the first step in bringing rare earth production into Alaska in the next three years.
All of this is to say that Ucore remains committed to shifting the focus for REE away from China and putting the spotlight back in North America. With its strategic plan in place, Ucore Rare Metals is in a strong position to do so, making the company a unique investment opportunity investors will want to get in on sooner rather than later.
For more information,
please visit ucore.com.