Non-binding supply Agreement signed with Critical Metals Corp., developer of the Tanbreez Project.
The Canadian company Ucore Rare Metals, with support from the Pentagon, plans to process rare earth elements in the U.S. state of Louisiana. The necessary raw materials could come from Greenland: On Tuesday, Ucore announced that it had signed a memorandum of understanding with U.S.-based mining company Critical Metals Corp., which operates in Greenland. Under the non-binding agreement, Critical Metals is to supply Ucore with rare earths from its Tanbreez Project in the south of the Arctic island for a period of at least ten years.
Deliveries are expected to begin no earlier than July 1, 2027. Initial volumes will be processed at Ucore’s demonstration facility in Kingston, Canada.
Tanbreez is currently in the development phase, with a feasibility study scheduled for completion by the end of the year. The deposit is considered a strong candidate to help reduce the world’s dependence on the industry giant China for rare earth supply. The content of heavy rare earth elements, particularly sought after for the production of high-performance magnets, is reported to be nearly 30 percent. In addition, the deposit contains zirconium and the critical metal gallium.
Tanbreez has also drawn attention due to its relatively low concentration of radioactive by-products compared to other Greenland deposits. However, it is a eudialyte deposit, a mineral containing only small concentrations of the raw materials, which makes extraction technically challenging.
More on Greenland’s resource potential: Earlier this year, U.S. President Trump made headlines once again with the idea of buying the Arctic island. The island’s rich mineral resources played a central role in this debate. In a background report, we examined the immense potential and the challenges associated with Greenland’s natural resource wealth in greater detail.
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