The Elements of Innovation Discovered
The Elements of Innovation Discovered
Metal Tech News - June 7, 2023
Ucore's RapidSX is a technological upgrade to the traditional solvent extraction method of separating rare earth elements.
Roughly 920 lb of rare earths go into each F-35 Lightning II.
To help break America's dependence on China for the rare earth elements that go into modern military hardware, the U.S. Department of Defense has awarded Ucore Rare Metals Inc. US$4 million to demonstrate the capabilities of its RapidSX rare earths separation technology.
Developed by Ucore subsidiary Innovation Metals Corp., RapidSX is a faster and more environmentally sound technological upgrade to the solvent extraction method that has been the standard for separating rare earths in China for more than four decades.
Independent testing has shown that the innovative column-based RapidSX platform can separate rare earths nearly 10 times faster within a footprint that is about one-third the size required for the mixer-settler units used for traditional SX separation.
Ucore is currently scaling this technology up to commercial readiness at its RapidSX Commercialization and Demonstration Facility in Kingston, Ontario, and plans to install the rare earths separation platform at the Louisiana Strategic Metals Complex (Louisiana SMC) it is developing at England Airpark, a former U.S. Air Force base in the heart of Louisiana.
Seeing RapidSX as an innovative separation process with the potential to offer sustainable North American supplies of rare earths, the Defense Department is providing Ucore with initial funding to determine that its demonstration plant is capable of upgrading heavy and light rare earth feedstock sources to salable individual rare earth products.
In addition to installing RapidSX at its Louisiana SMC, Ucore intends to license the technology, which would lead to additional rare earths separation capacity outside of China.
"We believe that Ucore has one of the West's most compelling rare-earth-supply chain business models," said Ucore Rare Metals Chairman and CEO Pat Ryan. "This U.S. DoD Project will allow us to demonstrate the RapidSX technology platform for rare earth element separation and will include original equipment manufacturers' qualification trials in coordination with our commercial development activities at the company's planned Louisiana SMC."
While independent testing has verified that RapidSX lives up to its name – quick separation of rare earths through the modernization of SX separation methods – it is a new technology that Pentagon officials want to verify before investing more heavily into.
Toward this objective, the initial $4 million Defense Department award will allow Ucore to operate its RapidSX demonstration plant nearly continuously over extended periods.
During this pilot-scale operation, Pentagon officials want to ensure that RapidSX:
• Can separate rare earths faster and more efficiently than traditional solvent extraction.
• Is applicable to separating both light and heavy rare earths with the same equipment.
• Is capable of continuous operation while processing multiple tons of rare earth feedstock.
The continuous testing also aims to increase the technology readiness level of RapidSX and develop a techno-economic assessment of the innovative rare earths separation process.
DOD also wants to see that RapidSX can be used to efficiently and quickly separate out the most critical rare earths, such as the praseodymium, neodymium, praseodymium-neodymium alloy, terbium, and dysprosium that go into powerful permanent magnets.
A technology capable of efficiently breaking apart these tightly interlocked tech elements is a key middle link in establishing a North American rare earths supply chain.
"The rare earth element processing opportunity afforded Ucore through this award is pivotal as the company continues to seek out and collaborate with like-minded upstream and downstream partners as part of a Western rare earth element supply chain solution," said Ryan.
Given America's strained relations with China, which dominates global rare earths processing, and the increased need for this group of elements in military and civilian technologies, establishing a Western rare earths supply chain has become an increasingly high strategic priority for the Pentagon.
Having recognized the high-tech potential of rare earths back in the 1980s, China proactively cornered the fledgling market and, by the early 2000s, mined and separated nearly 100% of the global supply.
While recent efforts in the U.S. and Australia have begun to diversify supply, China still accounts for approximately 60% of rare earths mining and 85% of rare earths processing.
This puts Pentagon officials in the not-so-strategic position of relying on a potential adversary for key ingredients for its most advanced weaponry.
For example, it is estimated that roughly 920 pounds of rare earths go into each F-35 Lightning II fighter, 5,200 lbs in a single Arleigh Burke DDG-51 destroyer, and a whopping 9,200 lbs per SSN-774 Virginia-class submarine.
With rare earth magnets being a key enabler of efficient electric vehicle motors, the demand and global competition for this group of tech elements is expected to increase significantly with the electrification of military and civilian mobility.
This is why the Pentagon is testing the commercial readiness of Ucore's RapidSX and is expected to invest additional funds in the technology if the initial tests demonstrate that the innovative separation process is capable of providing a North American alternative for the rare earths strategic to America's security, economy, and green energy goals.
With more than 16 years of covering mining, Shane is renowned for his insights and and in-depth analysis of mining, mineral exploration and technology metals.
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