Ucore, Innovation Metals’ Rare Earths Processing Plant Expected in Q1 2022

Ucore Rare Metals Canada and its subsidiary, Innovation Metals, announced the commissioning of its RapidSX demonstration-scale rare earths processing plant, which provides separation and purification of rare earth elements, in the first quarter of 2022.

The plant is located in Kingston, Ontario. According to the companies, their RapidSX technology will be ready for commercial adoption and implementation at Ucore's Alaska Strategic Metals Complex once a comprehensive, independent techno-economic study and subsequent design of a commercial-scale REE separation facility has been conducted. This is expected to occur in the second quarter of 2022, with a revenue-generating licensing model to be launched by the end of this year.

In a media statement, Ucore Chairman and CEO Pat Ryan said, "We support and fund IMC's efforts to develop the RapidSX technology and the coordinated plan for its subsequent deployment to North America's first modern rare earth separation plant, SMC Alaska, which is on schedule to produce individual rare earths in the first half of 2024 oxide."

Ryan noted that after conducting initial extraction rate tests in the summer of 2021, the Kingston Process Metallurgy team then completed a series of additional extraction rate tests to further validate the approach taken and quantify the potential impact of using RapidSX technology.

The chief said such testing utilized a mix of REE solutions, including commercially available feedstock procured from a U.S. ally. He said, "An independent report describing the findings is scheduled for January 2022, as the relevant empirical work is completed."

Ucore's chairman also mentioned that IMC has made significant progress in recent months in the mathematical modeling of the chemical processes that occur during the operation of the RapidSX technology.

He said, "These models will form the basis of proprietary software that will be used on a commercial scale to control the Innovation Metals’ RapidSX-based separation facility to optimize the parameters of the physical hardware platform. The mathematical models have been effectively used to develop a flow chart for rare earth separation and a regime for extraction rate testing, and will assist in determining the flow chart for the initial activities, which will be performed using a demonstration rare earths processing plant."

In addition to the modeling work, Pat Ryan said IMC has been working with researchers at the University of Toronto to develop and evaluate proprietary, cost-effective methods to reduce the amount of yttrium in heavy REE-rich feedstocks prior to separation using RapidSX.

He explained that yttrium is a lower value rare earth element and that reducing the amount of Y in the HREE feedstock prior to subsequent separation has the potential to reduce operating costs, as well as the required plant size, and thus capital costs.

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