Week of June 17, 2026
Existing Northern Territory processing complex could accelerate commercial deployment of NVRO's innovative metals recovery tech. NVRO Metals Ltd. (formerly EnviroGold Global Ltd.) has taken a major step toward commercial deployment of its proprietary metals recovery technology by securing an industrial-scale processing complex in Australia's Northern Territory that could serve as both a production center for critical minerals and a launch platform for global deployment of the...
Conditionally commits $500M to Phoenix Tailings midstream buildout. Anchoring a roughly $1 billion financing push to expand U.S. rare earth processing capacity, the U.S. Department of War's Office of Strategic Capital has conditionally committed to a $500 million loan to support Phoenix Tailings Inc.'s buildout of critical metals production capacity. While rare earths are found in relative abundance despite their name, the processing, separation, refining, and metal-making...
Early work indicates water-based leaching solution may mobilize magnet rare earths. Preliminary testing indicates that RZOLV Technologies Inc.'s hydrometallurgical platform may have a role to play in cleaner and more efficient methods of processing and separating rare earth elements. "Our early work suggests that RZOLV may provide a modular front-end treatment pathway for selected REE-bearing materials," said RZOLV Technologies President and CEO Duane Nelson. The company...
DOE backs plant to recover critical minerals from refinery waste. Expanding a Louisiana critical minerals project already backed by federal defense funding, ElementUSA Inc. and Colorado School of Mines recently unveiled a $67 million U.S. Department of Energy award to advance the design, construction, commissioning, and operation of a rare earth processing facility in Louisiana. In an industry where access to minerals is often constrained as much by processing capacity as by...
Engineering work evaluates Southeast processing site potential. Extending its downstream battery materials platform beyond cobalt, Electra Battery Materials Corp. has engaged engineering consultants to advance a development study for a potential battery-grade nickel refinery in the southeastern United States. Across North America's battery supply chain, mines, cell plants, and electric vehicle manufacturing have drawn much of the attention, leaving the refining step between...
Spanish firm produces commercial-grade neodymium-praseodymium. Toward the broader objective of building a European rare earth magnets value chain, Spanish industrial engineering firm Técnicas Reunidas has successfully produced its first commercial-grade neodymium-praseodymium (NdPr) oxide using its proprietary RARETECH technology, marking a significant step toward establishing a European rare earth magnet supply chain. NdPr oxide is among the most valuable rare earth...
Colorado hydromet plant targets first separated heavy rare earth oxides in third quarter. USA Rare Earth has commissioned a hydrometallurgical demonstration facility in Wheat Ridge, Colorado, that is expected to de-risk the rare earth processing and separation technologies needed to feed the company's envisioned mine-to-magnets supply chain. The Colorado facility is targeting first production of separated heavy rare earth oxides during the third quarter of 2026, including...
Energy Fuels expects 1.6M lb U3O8 by mid-year as output accelerates. Building on a year-long ramp-up across its U.S. uranium mining and processing network, Energy Fuels Inc. expects finished uranium production at its White Mesa Mill in Utah to reach roughly 1.6 million pounds of triuranium octoxide (U3O8) by June 30, putting the company inside its full 2026 guidance range in the first six months of the year. Operating as a key domestic link in the front end of the U.S....
Framework targets Louisiana feedstock, Japan separated REE sales. Adding a Japanese market and logistics partner to its developing North American rare earth supply chain, Ucore Rare Metals Inc. June 15 announced a strategic cooperation framework with Sumitomo Corporation of Americas (SCOA) to support rare earth feedstock sourcing and separated product offtake tied to Ucore's planned Louisiana Strategic Metals Complex. Although the United States and allied nations have been...
Swiss metals trader signs preliminary offtake-financing framework tied to copper cathode from Northern Territory hub. NVRO Metals Ltd. has lined up a preliminary offtake and financing framework that could provide up to US$25 million to help launch its proposed critical metals production hub in Australia's Northern Territory. Under a nonbinding heads of agreement announced June 15, Geneva-based Transamine SA would purchase initial copper cathode production from the NVRO Metals...
Commerce funding fuels $3.5B rare earths value chain buildout. USA Rare Earth Inc. has secured access to up to $1.6 billion in U.S. Department of Commerce funding, providing the capital needed to advance one of the West's most ambitious efforts to build a fully integrated rare earths supply chain outside China. The funding package, finalized through a definitive agreement with the Commerce Department, unlocks up to $1.3 billion in senior secured loan capacity, to be made...
FAST-41 approval for Wyoming rare earth mine adds pressure on separation tech demonstration plant. Rare Element Resources Ltd. is advancing its Bear Lodge rare earth project in northeastern Wyoming on two critical fronts: federal permitting for the mine and demonstration of proprietary rare earth processing and separation technology that could help establish a domestic supply chain for magnet rare earths. Smooth and predictable permitting under the federal FAST-41 program...
