The Elements of Innovation Discovered
The Elements of Innovation Discovered
Visit underscores significance of rare earths separation tech Metal Tech News – August 30, 2023
Ucore Rare Metals COO Mike Schrider (left), with staff from the United States embassy in Ottawa, Canada.
The strategic importance of Ucore Rare Metal Inc.'s RapidSX rare earth elements separation technology was underscored by a recent tour of the company's commercial demonstration plant in Kingston, Ontario.
"This visit underscores the significance of our work in the rare earth minerals sector and highlights our dedication to pioneering eco-friendly resource solutions," said Ucore Rare Metals COO Mike Schrider.
The RapidSX technology being demonstrated at the Ontario plant is a 21st-century 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.
The Ontario demonstration plant includes a RapidSX circuit and a parallel 52-stage conventional solvent extraction mixer-settler pilot-scale plant to obtain direct comparative results between the two processes.
Earlier this year, the U.S. Department of Defense awarded Ucore $4 million to verify that this technology can be used to efficiently separate the most critical rare earths, such as the praseodymium, neodymium, terbium, and dysprosium that go into powerful permanent magnets needed for green energy, high-tech, and military hardware.
This type of rare earths separation technology is crucial to breaking the Western world's reliance on China for this suite of elements.
Ucore plans to install the RapidSX technology being demonstrated in Ontario at an industrial building the company purchased earlier this year in Alexandria, Louisiana.
During their visit to the Canadian facility getting to get this technology ready for its first commercial installation in America, the U.S. Embassy staff talked with Ucore management and staff about RapidSX technology, supply chain transparency, and the pivotal role rare earths play in the clean energy transition.
"We believe that collaborations on an international level will play a pivotal role in shaping the future of sustainable technologies and strengthen our position of applying pioneering technological breakthroughs to bolster our forthcoming commercial rare earth separation facility in Alexandria, Louisiana," said Schrider.
Ucore anticipates visits from other dignitaries as it closes in on establishing a rare earths separation technology in North America that supports an REE supply chain that aligns with a broader international agenda to secure reliable supplies of critical minerals.
"The company is working to raise awareness of our work in Kingston and Alexandria across the Canadian and United States governments and looks forward to other planned government entity visits as we strengthen the critical metals supply chain across North America," said Ahmad Hussein, an advisory board member and government liaison at Ucore Rare Metals.
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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