Energy Fuels surges to 3-year high as it begins heavy rare earth production

Energy Fuels (NYSE-A: UUUU) (TSX: EFR) has begun heavy rare earth element (HREE) production on a pilot scale at its White Mesa mill in Utah, paving the way for commercial production as early as 2026.For years, the Lakewood, Colorado-based company has been the leading US producer of natural uranium concentrate and operates the country’s only licensed uranium mill at White Mesa, from which it also produces critical minerals such as vanadium and rare earth element (REE) oxides.Commercial-scale production of REEs, in particular light rare earths neodymium (Nd) and praseodymium (Pr), began in June 2024 following three years of pilot work and subsequent commissioning of the rare earth separation circuit.However, the company recently confirmed that the White Mesa facility has the capability to produce heavy rare earths as well, namely dysprosium (Dy), terbium (Tb) and samarium (Sm), which are less common and are key to high-performance technologies such as military applications. Successful production would make it the first US supplier of HREES that processes mined ores at a commercial facility.Shares of Energy Fuels soared to a 52-week high of $8.84 in New York during Thursday’s trading session. By noon, it traded at $8.78 for a market capitalization of nearly $2 billion.HREE production underwayOn Thursday, Energy Fuels said it is now in the process of producing heavy rare earths on a pilot scale, beginning with Dy oxides, at a minimum purity of 99.5% and potentially exceeding 99.9%. The first kilogram of production is expected within the next 30 days. The company plans to continue producing until the end of September, at which time it aims to have produced 15 kg of Dy.Afterwards, the company plans to feed the residuals generated from the Dy production to its terbium circuit starting in October, and expects to have produced 1 kg of Tb on a pilot scale by the end of November.If progress continues as planned, Energy Fuels said it will follow up with pilot-scale samarium oxide production at the mill in January 2026.PDAC video: Energy Fuels produces rare earths using fast process, CEO saysUpon successful pilot-scale production, the company said it could be in a position to produce these heavy rare earths on a commercial scale at the existing Phase 1 separation circuit, with minor modifications, as early as the fourth quarter of 2026. The circuit currently has the capacity to produce 850 to 1,000 metric tonnes of NdPr.“The company has demonstrated its ability to separate NdPr on a commercial scale through the commissioning of its Phase 1 REE separations circuit at the mill in April 2024,” Energy Fuels CEO Mark Chalmers stated in a press release Thursday. “Piloting of our HREE production is going very well, with our first kg of Dy oxides expected shortly.”Economically viable feedUnlike others who are experimenting with HREE production via recycling, Energy Fuels is the only US company testing the production of separated HREE oxides from commercial rare earth ores. If successful, the company said it would become the first to produce HREEs from economically viable feedstock in the US.For its commercial HREE production at White Mesa, the company is expected to use existing feed sources. It also plans to use rare-earth-bearing mineral sands monazite and xenotime from the Donald joint venture project in Australia as early as 2027, should a production decision be made this year.According to Energy Fuels, the Donald project is a world-class source of HREEs, as it has high relative concentrations of xenotime. The rare earth element concentrate (REEC) that will be produced at the Donald project contains approximately 3.02% Sm, 0.37% Tb and 2.15% Dy on a 100% total rare earth oxides basis. This compares favorably to typical bastnaesite ores, which have approximately 0.79% Sm, 0.02% Tb and 0.03% Dy, and other monazite properties that typically contain approximately 1.80% Sm, 0.10% Tb and 0.20% Dy.At the Donald project’s average Phase 1 production rate of 7,100 tonnes per year, the REEC would contain 129 tonnes of Sm, 16 tonnes of Tb and 92 tonnes of Dy per year for the next 40-plus years, representing 250%, 23% and 34% respectively of current annual US requirements. Last month, the company received Australian regulatory approval for the project.Energy Fuels’ rare earth JV in Australia receives regulatory OK“The company’s permitted Donald project, in Australia, is one of the richest deposits of HREEs in the world, which we could bring into production by the end of 2027, thereby providing much-needed US-produced heavy rare earth oxides to other US rare earth producers,” Chalmers stated.The company also holds two other mineral sands and rare earths projects, the Toliara in Madagascar and Bahia in Brazil, which could come online as soon as 2028 and 2029, respectively.Weiter zum vollständigen Artikel bei Mining.com Weiter zum vollständigen Artikel bei Mining.com