Factbox: Rare earths projects under development in U.S.

Texas Mineral Resources

22/04/2020 12:06

April 22 (Reuters) - The U.S. government is planning to fund
domestic rare earths projects in an attempt to reduce its
reliance on China, the global leader of the specialized sector.
 urn:newsml:reuters.com:*:nL5N2C41YC
    Rare earths are a group of 17 minerals used in a plethora of
military equipment and consumer electronics. There are no known
substitutes. Apple Inc  AAPL.O , for instance, uses rare earths
in its iPhone's taptic engine, which makes the phone vibrate. 
    While the modern rare earths industry had its genesis in
World War Two's Manhattan Project to develop the atomic bomb,
China has spent the last 30 years building a monopoly over the
sector. Rare earths are no longer processed in the United
States.
    In an attempt to change that, the Pentagon last year said it
would fund mines and processors via the Defense Production Act,
which gives the military wide berth to procure certain
equipment. U.S. President Donald Trump has recently considered
using the same law to boost medical supply
manufacturing. urn:newsml:reuters.com:*:nL1N28U27T urn:newsml:reuters.com:*:nL1N28F2AS
    
    Here are rare earths projects under development in the
United States:
    
    Energy Fuels Inc  UUUU.A  
    The uranium producer said in early April it was considering
ways to retool some of its equipment to process rare earths. The
company does not plan to become a rare earths miner. Rather, it
said it was looking at opportunities to process rock for others
in order to extract the strategic minerals. 
    No final decision has been made, and Energy Fuels said it
expects uranium to remain its main focus.  urn:newsml:reuters.com:*:nCNW08pdqa

    Lynas Corp  LYC.AX  and privately-held Blue Line Corp
    Australia-based Lynas is largest producer of rare earths
outside China. The company extracts rare earths from a mine in
western Australia and ships the ore to Malaysia for processing,
though its Malaysian operations have come under increased
government scrutiny in recent years.
    Lynas inked a deal with Blue Line in 2019 to build rare
earths processing plants in Texas. Lynas will be the majority
owner. The companies last December jointly applied for Pentagon
funding for processing of so-called heavy rare earths, a
less-common type of the specialized minerals that are highly
sought after for use in weaponry, part of the reason why Lynas
sought a U.S.-based partner.
    On Wednesday, Lynas and Blue Line said they were chosen by
the Pentagon, though they did not say how much funding they
would get, nor did they list any conditions associated with the
award.  urn:newsml:reuters.com:*:nL4N2860CB urn:newsml:reuters.com:*:nL4N28M560 urn:newsml:reuters.com:*:nL3N2CA1UE  urn:newsml:reuters.com:*:nL4N2860CB   
    
    MP Materials 
    The privately held company owns California's Mountain Pass
mine, the only rare earths mine in the United States. China's
Shenghe Resources Holding Co  600392.SS  owns about 10% of the
company, and Chinese customers account for all its annual
revenue of about $100 million.
    MP Materials ships more than 50,000 tonnes of concentrated
rare earths per year to China for processing. It is spending
$200 million to restart mothballed equipment and aims to be
processing at the mine site by the end of the year, though some
industry analysts have said the goal may be overly optimistic.
    Once the refining equipment does switch online, the goal is
to use that material on site to make more than 5,000 tonnes per
year of neodymium and praseodymium (NdPr), two of the 17 types
of rare earths that are used to make magnets.  urn:newsml:reuters.com:*:nL2N23A0T7
    
    NioCorp Developments Ltd  NB.TO  
    The company, led by former Molycorp executives, is
developing the Elk Creek mine in Nebraska. The deposit will
primarily produce niobium, which is used to harden steel and is
not a rare earth. But it also will produce the rare earth
scandium.
    The company is in the process of obtaining permits and is
looking for financing.
    
    Rare Element Resources Ltd  REEMF.PK 
    The company has been developing the Bear Lodge rare earths
mine in Wyoming since 1999. In recent years, the company has run
into delays in obtaining permits and faced other challenges,
hindering its ability to secure financing.
    
    Texas Mineral Resources Corp  TMRC.PK  and privately held
USA Rare Earth  
    The companies are developing the Round Top rare earths
project in the western corner of Texas and hope to have it
operational by 2023. In the meantime, the partners are building
a pilot plant in Colorado to process rare earths.  urn:newsml:reuters.com:*:nL1N28N1T7
    The companies hope to be producing small amounts of
processed rare earths by the middle of 2020 - roughly 100 kg
(220 pounds) annually. This would help them finalize supply
deals with potential customers and secure financing for a
full-scale plant near their Texas mine site.  urn:newsml:reuters.com:*:nL1N2BH1GQ
    
    UCore Rare Metals Inc  UCU.V  
    The company is developing the Bokan mine in Alaska and
building rare earths processing equipment. Alaska's state
government has pledged $145 million to support the project.
    UCore has said it plans to focus first on building the
processor and then develop the mine. The company teamed up with
manufacturer Materion Corp  MTRN.N  to apply for Pentagon
funding for the processing plant. urn:newsml:reuters.com:*:nL1N28V07T    
    Materion has previously received financial support from the
U.S. military to produce beryllium, a mineral used as a
hardening agent for weapons. The beryllium production process
has similarities to rare earths processing.   

 (Reporting by Ernest Scheyder; Editing by Pravin Char)
 ((ernest.scheyder@thomsonreuters.com; Twitter: @ErnestScheyder;
+1-713-210-8512; Reuters Messaging:
ernest.scheyder.thomsonreuters.com@reuters.net))