ReElement Technologies accelerates rare earth production at Indiana plant

Amid escalating US-China trade tensions, American rare earth refiner ReElement Technologies says it will expand the operational equipment at its Noblesville plant in Indiana to meet surging demand for domestically sourced rare earth oxides.Earlier this month, the company — a subsidiary of American Resources Corporation (NASDAQ: AREC) — completed a round of capital fundraising to support the procurement and commissioning of new commercial-scale equipment for the Noblesville facility to expand its production capabilities, in light of China’s recent export restrictions on rare earth elements.China dominates the global rare earth sector, accounting for over 70% of mine production and nearly all of the world’s processing capacity. In response to the recent US tariffs, China began to weaponize this dominance by imposing export restrictions on seven rare earth minerals.The US, meanwhile, has limited production and had been heavily reliant on China.Expansion projectsOn Monday, ReElement announced that it has completed the second phase of plant expansion to double its production of finished rare earth oxides, and is now undergoing a Phase 3 expansion that could triple the production over Phase 2. The company did not disclose the production capacity levels, only that the expansion is scheduled for May/June.The latest equipment expansion highlights the modular and scalable characteristics of ReElement’s refining technology, allowing for swift and flexible growth to meet the surging demand for ultra-pure, domestically produced rare earth oxides, the company stated in a news release.This added refining capacity will significantly increase the facility’s daily refining volumes of key rare earth elements, including neodymium, praseodymium, dysprosium and terbium, the company said.ReElement’s modular, multi-feedstock refining platform — born from decades of research at Purdue University — is currently the only US-based scalable solution capable of economically separating and purifying rare earth elements.“By investing in and leveraging our innovative refining technology, our Noblesville facility is able to rapidly scale to meet the unprecedented customer demand we are seeing from our growing customer base,” Jeff Peterson, COO of ReElement Technologies, commented.“Our Noblesville facility, located in an urban setting, demonstrates not only the scalability of our technology but also our commitment to environmentally responsible production of both heavy and light rare earth oxides,” CEO Mark Jensen added.While the Noblesville plant, covering a space of 700 square metres, represents ReElement’s flagship facility, the company has plans to build a larger centralized industrial space (over 50,000 sq. m) in Marion, Indiana, with a targeted initial capacity to produce 1,000 tonnes per year of ultra-pure (>99.5%) rare earth oxides. The Marion campus was once home to American technology giants such as Thompson Electronics, Farnsworth Radio and RCA.“While the [Noblesville] site was not originally intended to be commercial, growing customer demand, especially following recent global trade shifts, has made it an essential part of our operations as we continue developing our larger Marion facility,” Jensen added.Weiter zum vollständigen Artikel bei Mining.com Weiter zum vollständigen Artikel bei Mining.com