Ucore Rare Metals Inc. announced the acquisition of its third mixed rare earth element chemical concentrate at the Company's RapidSX Commercialization and Demonstration Facility in Kingston, Ontario. This light REE feedstock is from a US mineralization source and will be incorporated into the commissioning process for the 52-Stage RapidSX Demonstration Plant for the separation of mixed heavy and light REE chemical concentrates. It follows two other mixed chemical concentrates that are utilized in the commissioning process, a synthetic light mixed rare earth oxide blend modeled in a monazite source and a heavy mixed rare earth oxide acquired from a US-friendly ionic clay mineralization source.

Ucore's RapidSX commissioning program is a first-of-a-kind in North America. It consists of processing all three light and heavy REE feedstocks through the same Demo Plant circuit and, in parallel, a corresponding 52-stage conventional solvent extraction mixer settler pilot plant to obtain direct comparative results between the two processes. Once the commissioning process is complete, Ucore will commence its heavy REE demonstration and qualification program with the US Department of Defense.

This USD 4 million project from the US government was announced on June 6, 2023, and represents a significant stepping stone in Ucore's transition to the commercial deployment of its RapidSX REE separation technology platform in Alexandria, Louisiana.