Rare Element Resources is building a processing and separation demonstration plant.
U.S. critical minerals company Rare Element Resources (RER) has received approval from the Department of Energy to begin operations at its rare earth processing and separation demonstration plant in Upton, Wyoming. The Department’s Office of Energy Efficiency and Renewable Energy has issued the second and final continuation notice following its approval of the operations budget and confirmation of readiness. The plant is now set to go online in the fourth quarter of 2024, provided the U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission also gives the green light. The DOE also approved an increase in the project’s cost-share budget to $53.6 million, with federal cost-share increasing by 10% to roughly $24.2 million.
RER is developing the Bear Lodge rare earth mine in northeastern Wyoming. Once mined, rare earth-bearing ores must be separated and refined through different chemical processes. In 2020, RER produced the first neodymium-praseodymium oxides from sample feedstock originating from Bear Lodge. The company said that once operational, the demonstration plant will enable RER to collect the necessary data to begin work on a commercial-scale facility. Should it prove viable, RER is set to mine rare earths and refine them directly into oxides (PDF), which could supply other North American companies.
American Rare Earths, another company based in Wyoming, also recently secured government support, setting the state up to become a major rare earth hub.
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