Rare Element Resources
RER has constructed a $66M+ rare earth processing and separation demonstration plant in Upton, Wyoming, designed to advance its proprietary technology for extracting and separating rare earth elements, critical for applications like defense systems, advanced technology, and energy systems. It aims to operate for up to 10 months, producing up to 10 tons of Nd/Pr oxide to generate technical and economic data essential for designing a commercial-scale facility. The demo plant, supported by the U.S. Department of Energy and the Wyoming Energy Authority, underscores RER’s efforts to establish a secure domestic rare earth supply chain through its Bear Lodge Project.
Rare Element Resources developed its rare earth element (REE) extraction/separation technology in 2013. This patented recovery process resulted in a high-purity, total rare earth concentrate in pilot-plant testing.
World-Class Technology Partner and Majority Shareholder
In 2017, an affiliate of General Atomics (GA), one of the largest, most advanced technology companies in the world, took an equity position in Rare Element Resources. As a leader in new technology development, both commercially and for national security, GA is aware of the importance of developing a secure, domestic supply of critical REEs.
Since then, GA and its partners have brought the full force of their technology development team to refine and enhance the extraction/separation process. In 2020, the first high-grade, separated REE product (neodymium/praseodymium) was produced from Bear Lodge material. This was done at a lower cost and in a more environmentally sound way than traditional industry methods.
Extensive pilot-plant testing was undertaken at Europe’s Umwelt-und-Ingenieurtechnik GmbH (UIT) labs in Germany. The process involves four steps:
Step 1:
Physical Upgrading
Step 2:
Primary Hydromet Processing
Step 3:
Separation & Refining
Step 4:
REE Separation & Refining
The primary goal of the Demonstration Plant is to validate the Company’s REEs extraction/separation process at a scale sufficient to provide design and performance data, as well as economic metrics for a potential follow-on, commercial-scale extraction/separation facility. In 2021, the partners announced completion of a financial award from the U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) Advanced Manufacturing Office in the amount of $22M. This money is dedicated to the design, permitting, licensing, construction and operation of the demonstration plant. Further, in November 2022, the Company was named a grant recipient from the Wyoming Energy Authority (WEA) for an additional $4.4M to support non-federal costs.
As of early 2023, the development team and the DOE have completed design of the demonstration plant, which has been built in Upton, WY. The Nuclear Regulatory Commission (NRC) license was received in late July 2023, and the DOE NEPA review was completed in mid-November with construction approval from the DOE received in late December 2023.
In 2024, construction progressed with operations readiness approval in September 2024 from the DOE, and NRC approval to operate received thereafter. Upon shakedown of equipment in late 2024 and into 2025 was undertaken, the Company determined several items of construction required updating prior to full operations. Operations are now planned for late 2025, once the updates are complete.
The Demonstration Plant is planned to operate for up to 10 months and produce up to 10 tons of separated Nd/Pr oxide, which will support the Company’s ongoing discussions with potential strategic partners and offtake customers.
Extensive pilot-plant testing was undertaken at the General Atomics’ affiliate Umwelt-und-Ingenieurtechnik GmbH (UIT) lab in Germany. The results were positive, producing a greater than 99.5% pure Nd/Pr product.
Construction began on the Demonstration Plant in December 2023 after the Source Material License was received from the U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission (NCR) and the Department of Energy completed their NEPA review and budget approval. In September 2024, the DOE confirmed the construction was materially complete and approved the commencement of the commissioning of the plant. At this same time, the DOE committed an additional 10% to its cost-share, resulting in a total contribution of $24.2M in support for the plant. With construction now materially complete, operations are expected to begin in late 2025, following a review of the as-constructed plant indicated several upgrades were needed. Operations are expected to commence, following shakedown and construction update completion.
The project had an initial cost estimate of $44M which due to inflationary pressure and materials of construction higher costs, the plant is now expected to cost ~$66M. Both the U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) ($24.2M) and the Wyoming Energy Authority ($4.4M) have committed funds to the construction and operation of the Plant.
Several studies have been completed that indicate the U.S. is at risk because it does not produce a number of critical elements domestically that are necessary for the continued development and production of advanced and green technologies. Almost all of the rare earth elements (REEs) are on this list. The DOE has been task with addressing this issue and are doing so by helping companies that have domestic resources of critical elements advance their projects. In order for the U.S. to meet it carbon reduction goals, more electric cars and wind farms are going to be necessary, both of which take a large quantity of REEs. Continued reliance on China for these materials is considered a national risk. Please go to the Rare Earth Elements section of the website for more on China’s dominance of the rare earth market.
GA is a world-class technology partner and has a long history of bringing technology to market. A GA affiliate is a majority shareholder in RER and their work has advanced the Company’s technology, making it more efficient and successful in recovering the higher value rare earths. During the Demonstration Plant operations, it will be the GA affiliate’s scientists who optimize the process and monitor the real-time innovative controls. GA has a strong interest in the project being a success, and the Company moving toward commercial-scale production to meet the need for a secure domestic source of separated rare earths.
The Company’s innovative extraction/separation technology is different than anything currently used to recover rare earths. Demonstration Plant data will allow us to confirm the scalability of the process, identify areas for improvement and better understand expected costs. This information will help de-risk the commercial project and drive a complete economic evaluation of both the processing facilities and the mine operations.
Operation will run until sufficient data has been gathered to support an economic evaluation and assure the process has been optimized. Currently, that is expected to be approx. 10-12 months. Ideally, the Demonstration Plant will continue for further advancement projects to the technology, for example, other feed sources, and separation of heavy rare earths (HREE) utilizing the technology. RER is working on several initiatives to support such advancement projects.
The Company plans on producing commercial-grade REE products. They will be used to demonstrate quality for prospective customers and potentially sold. One of the goals of the operation will be to optimize the process to ensure the highest quality of product and the lowest cost to recovery.
No. This site is naturally protected by approximately 800 to 1,000 feet of impermeable shale and clay that overlays the entire site. In addition, chemical storage tanks is located within approved secondary containment systems and the Demonstration Plant has secondary containment within the building.
All dust generating devices will be outfitted with dust suppression and/or collecting bag houses. Emissions from the equipment will be captured and cleaned in a scrubber system before being vented. The system has been designed to recover the majority of the water and chemical used in the processing.
The recovery of rare earth elements at the Demonstration Plant will utilize hydrochloric, nitric and oxalic acids, ammonium hydroxide and sodium carbonate. These chemicals will be managed in accordance with applicable local, State, and Federal safety regulations and requirements and will not represent any danger to the public. The vast majority of these reagents will be recycled within the closed system.
In addition to issuing the source material license, the NRC will regulate the radiation protection program to ensure public safety and monitor the plant operations. In addition, the NRC will require a Decommissioning Funding Plan for proper closure when the project has been completed.
