The mining newspaper for Alaska and Canada's North
The mining newspaper for Alaska and Canada's North
Ucore joins mining group as it advances REE plant in Alaska North of 60 Mining News – August 13, 2021
The American flag flies in front of Bokan Mountain in Alaska, a potential domestic source of the rare earths used in electric vehicles, wind turbines, and a wide range of high-tech devices.
In addition to rare earths, drilling has outlined stores of the critical minerals niobium, zirconium, beryllium, hafnium, titanium, and vanadium at Bokan Mountain.
Ucore Rare Metals Inc. Aug. 11 announced that it has joined the National Mining Association, which advocates for United States mining to Congress, the White House, federal agencies, and others in Washington, D.C.
Ucore's joining with the more than 250 other corporate and organization members of NMA coincides with its preparation to construct the Alaska Strategic Metals Complex rare earth element processing facility by the end of 2023.
"Ucore's membership in the National Mining Association, its growing relationships with North American original equipment manufacturers and US-allied resource suppliers affords us a unique opportunity to solidify our efforts to strengthen the REE supply chain in the United States," said Ucore Rare Metals COO Mike Schrider.
NMA has been a strong advocate for the domestic production of rare earths, a group of 17 elements used in a wide array of modern technologies, including EVs, renewable energy, computers, and smartphones.
While the U.S. does have one rare earths mine, the MP Materials Mountain Pass Mine in California, it does not have the capacity to separate concentrates produced there into useable individual rare earths.
As such, the U.S. currently relies on foreign countries for 100% of its supply of rare earths. And more than 80% of these critical metals are imported from China, either directly or via secondary countries.
"For far too long the U.S. sat on the sidelines while China strategically built out production and processing capabilities that have resulted in almost total dominance of the rare earth supply chain. Ucore's vision and plan show that need not be the case," said National Mining Association President and CEO Rich Nolan.
Establishing a domestic rare earths supply chain becomes even more critical following the executive order signed by President Joe Biden that sets a steep goal of zero-emission vehicles – battery-electric, plug-in hybrid electric, or fuel cell – making up half of all new passenger cars and light trucks sold in the U.S. during 2030.
High-performance rare earth magnets are typically used in EV motors and other components.
Ucore plans to be ramping up a domestic supply of the rare earths needed for these magnets and other high-tech applications at the same time automakers are expanding EV production.
Under a plan dubbed Alaska2023, Ucore plans to build the Alaska SMC, a commercial-scale RapidSX rare earths separation and purification plant near the port town of Ketchikan in Southeast Alaska. In the beginning, this facility will separate rare earths and other critical minerals from material provided by non-Chinese suppliers.
"Critical mineral processing is the first step to establishing an independent rare earth supply chain in North America, and the Alaska SMC rare earth oxide production facility will be an integral component of the United States' domestic vehicle supply chain for the critical metals required to shift the landscape with electrical vehicles," said Schrider.
This processing facility is the first step in Ucore's ultimate goal of establishing a mine at Bokan Mountain, a rare earth and critical minerals project about 30 miles away from the SMC.
"With near-term plans for processing and production in Alaska in parallel to the long-term development of the Bokan project, Ucore is a prime example of a company that can help ensure that 'made in America' also includes 'processed in America,' where we know projects will utilize our vast resources under world-leading environmental and labor standards," said Nolan. "We are proud to have such an innovative and visionary company join our membership."
Over his more than 16 years of covering mining and mineral exploration, Shane has become renowned for his ability to report on the sector in a way that is technically sound enough to inform industry insiders while being easy to understand by a wider audience.
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