Separation, Refining & Rare-Earth Metals

American Rare Earths has unveiled an updated Scoping Study for the Cowboy State Mine outlining a larger development concept for Halleck Creek, CEO Mark Wall said. The study evaluates a 4.5-million-tonne-per-year operation with a projected mine life of 26 years, generating an estimated after-tax net present value of approximately US$1.07 billion at an 8% real discount rate. Initial capital is estimated at approximately US$900 million, comprising roughly US$690 million in direct capital and US$210 million in contingency, with the updated study applying a 30% contingency allowance to direct capital versus 20% in the company's 2025 study. Modelled average annual production of neodymium-praseodymium oxide has increased from approximately 1,800 tonnes to 2,500 tonnes, and a separate closure cost provision of approximately US$56 million has been included at the end of the projected mine life. The development concept combines mining, comminution and mineral concentration at the Cowboy State Mine with a separate hydrometallurgical refinery planned for the Wheatland or Laramie area of Wyoming, as the company aims to establish a domestic supply of rare earth oxides and advance technical work to connect those materials with downstream U.S. production of rare earth metals and permanent magnets.

Tronox Holdings plc has signed a cooperation and investment agreement with JX Advanced Metals Corporation to advance its rare earth and critical minerals business. Under the agreement, the two companies will fund on a 50/50 basis approximately $32 million to support a definitive feasibility study for Tronox's proposed rare earth cracking and leaching facility in Australia, a pre-feasibility study for a proposed rare earth oxide refinery in the United States, and development of a US-based pilot facility capable of producing initial quantities of high-purity rare earth oxides. The Cracking Plant is planned for the Rockingham Industrial Zone in Western Australia, about three kilometers south of Tronox's Kwinana TiO2 pigment plant, while the Refinery is expected to be located on Tronox-owned land adjacent to its Hamilton, Mississippi TiO2 pigment facility. Together, the two sites would aim to produce up to 10,000 tonnes per annum of total rare earth oxides, and the agreement also contemplates joint development of niobium, scandium, zirconium, and hafnium from Tronox's mineral resources. If the engineering studies demonstrate technical and commercial viability, the companies will explore forming a joint venture to fund, build, and operate the assets, and they have engaged with government-backed financing institutions including the US Export-Import Bank and Export Finance Australia.