RER gets demo plant permit

Rare Element Resources (RER) has been granted a source materials license from the U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission (NRC), a “critical step” in moving ahead with the company’s planned demonstration plant in Upton, Weston County.

The processing and separation demonstration plant itself represents the next step of RER’s journey towards operating a rare earth mine and processing plant in northeast Wyoming, with the mine itself to be located in the Bear Lodge Mountains just outside Sundance.

The source materials license allows RER to make use of previously stockpiled material from the Bear Lodge Project in the operation of the demo plant. The plant will make use of an estimate 1000 tons of ore from the site, which will be transported to the plant’s location in Upton.

Extracting the rare earthelements from this ore will produce waste streams including thorium and uranium, which is why a source material license is required from the NRC. Under this license, RER will treat and stabilise the process wastes before sending them to a licensed low-level waste facility.

The NRC granted the license after performing a National Environmental Policy Act (NEPA) assessment and finding that the project will have “no significant impact”.

“The issuance of this license is a key milestone for the Company, and we thank the NRC for its rigorous review and timely completion of our application,” said Brent Berg, President and CEO, in a press release.

“I believe the growing awareness of the exposure our country faces due to China’s monopoly on the rare earth supply chain has garnered ongoing support for our project.”

The U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) Office of Energy Efficiency and Renewable Energy will now perform its next stage approval process, which involves a mineral and environmental review. The DOE is funding an estimated 50% of the project costs through a grant award of $21.9 million.

“While the DOE undertakes its next steps, we are finalizing our work plan for the demonstration plant construction and operation as well as construction contractor selection. Construction of the demonstration plant could begin as early as November 2023,” said Berg.

“Following our planned construction period, we could see plant operations begin as early as summer 2024 – moving us one step closer to our goal of creating a secure, domestic source of separated and refined rare earths.”

Subject to a successful review from the DOE, the federal permitting process is now complete for the demo plant. One additional state permit is needed, which RER expects to receive in August.

Offsite fabrication and equipment assembly have already begun on key equipment for the plant that has a long lead time.