After a two-year demonstration program and now clutching recently accumulated partnership deals and pledges of government funding, Nova Scotia-based Ucore Rare Metals is aiming to begin commercial processing of heavy rare earths in 2026 at a re-purposed industrial site in Louisiana. Progress on several fronts has been made recently.
In December, it reported completing about 5,700 hours of rare earth element processing with tons of heavy mixed rare earth oxides in an automated and simulated 24-hour per day commercial production environment, producing an assortment of rare earth element groups and products using its 52-stage RapidSX rare earth element separation technology.
Since the December 2023 start of the demonstration program, Ucore has operated and continuously improved the system at its demonstration plant in Kingston, Ontario, Canada. The work is dedicated to transitioning the company’s RapidSX separation technology to its new Strategic Metals Complex under construction in Alexandria, Louisiana where it plans to reach commercial scale with the installation of RapidSX Machine #1 in mid-2026.
“The nearly two years of demonstration work undertaken by Ucore has been done with deliberate coordination with the Louisiana SMC production roll-out pathway. The result is a technically proven and de-risked commercialization pathway to commence heavy rare earth processing in Louisiana in 2026,” stated Mike Schrider, VP and COO. “With our planned sequential deployment of RapidSX machines, based on the unique demonstrated ability to produce products with only one RapidSX machine, Ucore has established a blueprint for smart deployment of capital, with minimal commercial risk, while getting to early heavy rare earth production within the United States of America.”
Alliance with Vacuumschmelze and eVAC Magnetics for supply of rare earth oxides
In November, Ucore announced it has signed a memorandum of understanding with Vacuumschmelze GmbH and its subsidiary eVAC Magnetics to develop a collaborative supply agreement for high-purity rare earth oxides. The materials will provide feedstock for eVAC’s new magnet manufacturing plant in South Carolina in coordination with Ucore’s staged-growth refining plans in Louisiana and Ontario.
“It’s known in critical industries of defense, EV automotive and renewable energy that VAC and eVAC represent an extensive supply network with decades of experience for rare earth permanent magnet production and magnetic solutions,” commented Pat Ryan chairman of Ucore. “As such we are extremely pleased with our strategic alignment which will allow Ucore to provide critical rare earth oxides produced using Ucore’s RapidSX refining technology for VAC and eVAC’s growing global markets.”
“This collaboration strengthens VAC’s and eVAC’s strategic position in the global rare earth supply chain and ensures long-term access to critical raw materials for our permanent magnet products,” noted Erik Eschen, CEO of VAC. “Partnering with Ucore reflects our commitment to sustainable innovation and securing supply resilience.“
$36.3M in government pledges for domestic rare earth processing
A pledge for substantial government funding came in October when Ucore was conditionally approved for a contribution of up to $36.3 million for Canada’s “Pathway to Samarium and Gadolinium Security” Project. It includes the conditional approval of a non-repayable contribution of up to $26.3 million from NRCan, through its Global Partnerships Initiative Program and up to $10 million from FedDev Ontario, to demonstrate and scale-up a first-of-its-kind commercial processing facility in Kingston dedicated to the refining of the rare earth elements samarium and gadolinium.
Samarium and gadolinium are among the rare earths added by China to its Export Control List earlier this year as part of that country’s strategy to prevent the supply of rare earth materials for military applications and reflect the ongoing shift in China’s export policy, moving toward stricter regulation and control. The elements are vital to next-generation technologies, including high-performance samarium-cobalt permanent magnets for defense systems including advanced radar, sonar and guidance systems, compact powerful micro-motors, advanced medical imaging and nuclear reactors.
“Canada is proud to support Ucore in advancing critical mineral development that aligns with our national priorities and international commitments,” said the Honourable Tim Hodgson, Minister of Energy and Natural Resources. “Through the Critical Minerals Production Alliance, we are working with trusted partners to deploy sovereign tools, mobilize investments and financing, and secure offtake arrangements to accelerate the development of secure, resilient critical minerals supply chains. These minerals will power the clean energy transition, strengthen our defence and manufacturing capabilities, and position Canada as a trusted supplier to our allies.”
“This contribution from NRCan is a powerful endorsement of our strategy to target specific and critical supply chain vulnerabilities with precision,” said Ryan. “It complements our Louisiana processing plans that will focus on heavy rare earth oxides also on China’s export restriction list. The heavies are vital to iron boron permanent magnets and samarium and gadolinium are essential for the high-temperature stability and SmCo magnet performance required in defense and medical applications. This support accelerates our path to becoming the first North American producer of these critical materials.”
Wyloo and Hastings agreement
Also in October, Ucore entered into a non-binding agreement with Wyloo Gascoyne Pty and Hastings Technology Metals to establish a long-term supply pathway for Yangibana rare earth concentrate and to evaluate hydrometallurgical processing options in the U.S., with Louisiana as the priority location. The deal links Australian feedstock from the Yangibana Rare Earths and Niobium Project with mid-stream processing and separation operations at Ucore’s Strategic Metals Complex in Louisiana.
“This represents another key step in building the mine-to-oxide pathway between allied nations,” stated Ucore CEO Ryan. “By partnering with Wyloo and Hastings, we are securing potential feedstock for our Louisiana SMC and exploring U.S. Hydromet options that add flexibility and scale to our DoD-backed RapidSX separation program.”
“This agreement represents a major step forward in de-risking the Yangibana Project by securing a pathway to a long-term offtake partner in the key North American market,” said Vince Catania, CEO of Hastings. “More importantly, the joint evaluation of a downstream Hyrdromet plant in the US demonstrates the efforts by Wyloo, Ucore and Hastings to access the financing and commercial opportunities arising from the recently announced rare earth deal by the US and Australian governments to jointly support “ready to go” projects.”
“Yangibana is one of the world’s most advanced, shovel-ready rare earth projects, with amongst the highest distributions of NdPr of any known deposit,” added Geoff Atkins, VP Business Development at Ucore. “This agreement is an important step in Ucore securing a fully aligned mine-to-oxide supply chain across trusted jurisdictions.”
Wyloo and Hastings, through their 60:40 Yangibana Joint Venture, and Ucore will work collaboratively to advance a potential long-term offtake and Hydromet partnership. It contemplates up to 37,000 tons per year of Yangibana rare earth concentrate, sourced from the Stage 1 mine and beneficiation circuit of the Yangibana Project. Also, the parties will jointly complete a Gap Analysis and techno-economic assessment of a new Hydromet facility in Louisiana, or a qualified third-party U.S. facility, to convert concentrate into mixed rare earth carbonate suitable for downstream separation at Ucore’s SMC.
For Ucore, the deal anchors an allied feedstock source for its Louisiana facility. For Wyloo and Hastings, it opens a U.S. downstream channel into the magnet materials market through a government-supported separation platform, strengthening financing and offtake options during the Yangibana Project’s ramp-up.
Strategic partnership with Metallium for Flash Joule Heating
In September, Ucore announced the signing of a strategic technology collaboration agreement with Metallium related to its Flash Joule Heating technology for upgrading rare earth mineral concentrates to mixed rare earth chlorides, which could then be refined into purified rare earth oxides utilizing Ucore’s RapidSX system. FJH provides a potential alternative to traditional approaches for generating mixed rare earth products and has the potential to significantly expand potential feedstock sources for Ucore.
The agreement formalizes a strategic partnership to integrate Metallium’s FJH process, which converts a wide range of rare earth-bearing materials into high-purity chloride intermediates, with Ucore’s RapidSX separation platform. Together, the companies are targeting a modular U.S.-based refining solution that can process both conventional REE concentrates and alternative feedstocks such as magnet scrap, e-waste, and lighting waste, producing separated REOs including NdPr, Dy, and Tb, while also opening opportunities to recover other critical and precious metals. The FJH process was covered in a previous article in Magnetics Magazine.
“Ucore is constructing one of the most advanced REE downstream separation facilities in North America, and this strategic agreement positions us a key participant in that supply chain, noted Michael Walshe, managing director of Metallium. “Our FJH platform can help unlock feedstocks that are currently stranded or heavily discounted, especially those rich in heavy REEs.”
“We are excited to explore the integration of Metallium’s metal recovery platform with our RapidSX,” added Ryan of Ucore. “This collaboration directly supports the U.S. Government’s strategic objective of developing Western-aligned separation capabilities that are scalable, flexible, and feedstock-agnostic. Our goal is to deliver consistent, high-purity rare earth outputs suitable for critical defense and commercial applications.”
For more info, see www.ucore.com.
