The corporate expects to have industrial portions of separated NdPr accessible for cargo by the tip of the month.
Vitality Fuels is extracting, refining, and separating the NdPr from monazite produced at its heavy mineral sand operations in Florida and Georgia.
The corporate stated that is the primary time in a number of many years {that a} US firm has produced on-spec separated REEs from monazite on a industrial scale.
Vitality Fuels started piloting REE separations in 2021 and later carried out partial REE separations in 2022 and 2023.
The corporate accomplished development of its Section 1 REE separation circuit within the first quarter of 2024 at a complete value of about $16 million, beneath the unique funds of $25 million.
Through the second quarter, the corporate expects to supply about 25 to 35 tonnes of on-spec, separated NdPr.
“The addition of REE separation processes has not hindered the power or capability of the corporate to supply uranium on the mill, and preparations are being made to begin a uranium ore and alternate feed uranium-bearing materials processing marketing campaign in Q3 2024,” Vitality Fuels stated in a press release.
“Following the completion of NdPr manufacturing on the mill in Q2 2024, the corporate expects to start processing uranium ore and alternate feed supplies from our present stockpiles, ensuing within the anticipated manufacturing of 150,000 to 500,000 kilos of U3O8 throughout 2024, with manufacturing ramping up additional in 2025.”
From the brand new circuit, Vitality Fuels additionally expects to supply a samarium-plus (Sm+) focus, whereas additionally recovering the contained uranium from the monazite feed shares.
The corporate expects to make use of this Sm+ focus to proceed pilot-scale dysprosium (Dy) and terbium (Tb) separation and to design circuits on the mill able to producing these uncommon earth merchandise in separated particular person kinds.
At the moment, there is no such thing as a firm within the Western Hemisphere able to commercially producing separated, on-spec Dy, Tb, or different heavy REE merchandise.
Shares of Vitality Fuels rose 3.9% by 12:00 p.m. EDT. The corporate has a market capitalization of $1.01 billion.