- The U.S. remains heavily dependent on China for rare earth processing and refined components critical to defense, electronics and clean-energy applications.
- An independent evaluation confirmed that RapidSX can separate both light and heavy REEs using proven conventional chemistry but dramatically faster kinetics.
- Ucore’s broader vision includes disrupting China’s control over the REE industry by introducing scalable, high-efficiency separation technology.
The race to secure rare earth elements has become a matter of both economic survival and national security for the United States, as China continues to dominate the global supply chain for these critical resources. At the center of America’s push to break free from this dependence is Ucore Rare Metals (TSX.V: UCU) (OTCQX: UURAF), whose RapidSX(TM) technology offers a faster, more efficient way to separate rare earths and build a resilient domestic supply chain.
The U.S. remains heavily dependent on China for rare earth processing and refined components critical to defense, electronics and clean-energy applications. China currently refines about 90% of the world’s rare earths, giving it outsized influence over the global supply chain (https://ibn.fm/1itJK). The country also dominates the critical permanent magnet market, producing an estimated 85–90% of global supply as of 2023 (https://ibn.fm/s8iMr). These magnets are essential for technologies ranging from electric vehicles to wind turbines, making China’s dominance a major strategic concern for U.S. policymakers and industry leaders.
In addition, the United States doesn’t have adequate refining infrastructure. China processes nearly all heavy rare earths and most light rare earth refining, meaning the U.S. must export raw ore for processing and then re-import refined products. This highlights the critical need for Ucore and its RapidSX technology (https://ibn.fm/qSw3u). Ucore’s proprietary tech is a patent-pending, environmentally friendly, column-based solvent extraction process that separates both light and heavy REEs more efficiently and with a smaller footprint than traditional mixer-settler solvent extraction systems.
An independent evaluation by AGHS, commissioned by Ucore, confirmed that RapidSX can separate both light and heavy REEs using proven conventional chemistry but dramatically faster kinetics. This enables a potential two to three times smaller plant footprint and a more than 50% reduction in capital costs, with operating cost savings of about 20% compared to traditional processes, all while being scalable from 1,000 to more than 10,000 tonnes per annum (https://ibn.fm/3YPiR).
At the demonstration scale, RapidSX is already in action. Ucore operates a RapidSX Commercial Demonstration Plant in Kingston, Ontario, funded in part through a U.S. Department of Defense (“DoD”) contract valued at $4 million (https://ibn.fm/NAShw). The company has also secured an additional C$4.28 million from the government of Canada to support commercialization of RapidSX using North American feedstocks.
Ucore’s strategy extends to the U.S., with its planned Louisiana Strategic Metals Complex (“SMC”) in Alexandria, which aims to process both heavy and light mixed rare earth concentrates for North American supply resilience. Automation plays a key role, as RapidSX utilizes programmable logic controllers and hundreds of sensors in its 52-stage demonstration platform to enable precise, efficient operations (https://ibn.fm/89gwC).
Ucore’s broader corporate vision emphasizes disrupting China’s nearly complete control over the REE industry, particularly the $15.7 billion-per-year rare earth oxide supply chain, by introducing scalable, high-efficiency separation technology to North America (https://ibn.fm/7Hpzy). The company’s focus on scalable extraction, beneficiation and separation technologies positions it as an advanced-technology contributor in the critical metals sector.
China’s recent export restrictions on seven key medium and heavy rare earth elements—including samarium, terbium, and dysprosium—have further illuminated the urgency of establishing an independent U.S. supply chain. Ucore CEO Pat Ryan, P.Eng., emphasized that these developments highlight the “urgent need for a robust and independent rare earth supply chain in North America” and that RapidSX offers a transformative solution to the challenge.
By providing a viable path toward smaller, faster, more cost-effective REE separation that is backed by independent evaluation, automation and government support, RapidSX helps fill a glaring gap in the U.S. industrial ecosystem. Its modular design offers flexibility and scalability, making it well-suited not only for the Louisiana SMC but future strategic metals complexes in Canada and Alaska and even for proprietary feed sources such as Ucore’s Bokan-Dotson Ridge project.
For more information, visit www.Ucore.com.
NOTE TO INVESTORS: The latest news and updates relating to UURAF are available in the company’s newsroom at https://ibn.fm/UURAF
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