Shannon Brandao
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From the article: "Reuters [excerpt]: #Startup #tech firms are racing to transform the way #rareearths are refined for the #cleanenergy transition, a push aimed at turbocharging the West's expansion into the niche sector that underpins billions of electronic devices.
The existing standard to refine these strategic minerals, known as solvent extraction, is an expensive and dirty process that #China has spent the past 30 years mastering. MP Materials (MP.N), Lynas Rare Earths (LYC.AX) and other Western rare earths companies have struggled at times to deploy it due to technical complexities and #pollution concerns.
...'The existing rare earths #refining process is a nightmare,' said Isabel Barton, a mining and geological engineering professor at the University of Arizona. 'That's why there are so many companies promising new methods, because we need new ones.'
Interviews with nearly two dozen industry consultants, academics and executives show that if one or more of these novel processing technologies succeed as hoped by 2025, they could slash reliance on Chinese rare earths #technology and its toxic by-products while also bolstering plans by Western firms to charge premium prices for the strategic minerals.
While none have launched commercially - and some industry consultants and analysts question whether they will be able to do so soon - a cadre of firms are pushing forward with aggressive development plans.
On a former U.S. Air Force base in Louisiana, Ucore Rare Metals (UCU.V) aims to process rare earths by mid-2025 using a technology known as RapidSX that it says is at least three times faster than solvent extraction, produces no hazardous chemical waste and requires only a third of the physical space.
'Our goal is to re-establish a North American rare earths #supplychain,' Michael Schrider, Ucore's chief operating officer, said during a visit to the site.
Formed in 2006, Ucore initially planned to mine a rare earths deposit in Alaska. But the company changed tack in 2022 to focus on refining, not mining, a pivot born from what two executives said they saw as a flaw in the West's strategy to weaken China's minerals dominance by trying to master both steps simultaneously.
Ucore, which has been testing its process with #Pentagon funding, is in talks now with 17 #mining companies to buy lightly processed supplies of rare earths known as concentrate, ship them to the Port of New Orleans, then truck them to a 80,800-square foot warehouse that will be outfitted with the RapidSX technology beginning in January."
#news #business #geopolitics