RE:RE:WSJ araticle regarding rare earthsI read an Aug 2016 article in Mining Magazine where Hatch said:
“We were pleased to work with MSV to demonstrate the effectiveness of the RapidSX process on Serra Verde REE concentrates," commented Gareth Hatch, president of IMC.
“Combining the time-proven chemistry of SX with IMC’s proprietary column-based approach, avoids the risks associated with novelty separation approaches that require expensive resins and other complex methods, not yet demonstrated at scale."
The demonstration project was conducted at IMC’s pilot-plant facility in Mississauga, Canada, capable of producing 2t/mth of REEs. The RapidSX process was developed as a result of funding from the US Army Research Laboratory, part of the US Department of Defense.
Serra Verde is a mine in Minas Gervais state Brazil. They have secured a $150 million capital injection in January 2023. (from a June 2023 article in Mining Technology). Whatever they're using for separation technology, and it doesn't appear to be RSX, they've secured more funding than Ucore in 5 years.