[SMM Rare Earth News Flash] Recently, the key R&D plan project of the autonomous region—"Research on Integrated Information Prospecting Prediction and Exploration Demonstration of Ion-Adsorbed Heavy Rare Earth Ore in Guangxi Based on Artificial Intelligence"—led by the Guangxi No. 274 Geological Team and implemented in conjunction with the Institute of Mineral Resources, Chinese Academy of Geological Sciences, was officially launched in Nanning. As one of the main producing areas of ion-adsorbed rare earth ore in south China, Guangxi has abundant rare earth resources but insufficient exploration accuracy. The project will rely on the geological data and exploration experience of the Guangxi Bureau of Geology and Mineral Resources and, with the help of artificial intelligence technology, construct a multi-source heterogeneous information fusion model, focusing on breaking through the bottleneck of spatial positioning accuracy of heavy rare earth orebodies. After the project launch meeting, the team went to a typical mining area to conduct the first phase of joint field reconnaissance.

[SMM Rare Earth News] USA Rare Earths (USAR) announced that its hydrometallurgical demonstration facility in Wheat Ridge, Colorado, has officially begun operations. The facility targets production of its first separated oxides in Q3 2026, at which point it will become one of the few Western enterprises capable of commercially supplying strategic heavy rare earth oxides such as dysprosium, terbium, and yttrium. The plant features a fully automated design and is equipped with multi-stage solvent extraction circuits and a real-time monitoring system. Its demonstration project will validate the processing flows for three raw materials in phases and in parallel: ore from the Round Top project in Texas, third-party mixed rare earth carbonates (including feedstock from Serra Verde), and the recycling of NdFeB magnet grinding scrap. This start-up marks a key step for USAR in building a complete rare earth value chain encompassing mining, processing, metals, and magnet manufacturing.

[SMM Rare Earth Newsflash] US rare earth developer Rare Element Resources (RER) announced that its rare earth separation demonstration plant in Upton, Wyoming, is progressing and plans to begin full operations by late summer 2026. The plant will utilize proprietary technology to produce high-purity neodymium-praseodymium oxide, plans to operate for up to 12 months, providing critical data for future commercial separation facilities. RER wholly owns the Bear Lodge rare earth project, which was designated as a federal FAST-41 covered project in March 2026. The company raised $30.5 million through an oversubscribed rights issue in March to fund plant operations and project licensing, and is expected to complete all licensing requirements by early 2028.

[SMM Rare Earth News] The US Department of Energy (DOE) recently announced that it has selected a project led by the Colorado School of Mines for funding negotiations, aiming to advance the extraction and refining of rare earth elements from non-traditional resources such as “red mud.” The project will build a demonstration facility near an alumina refinery in Gramercy, Louisiana, to recover rare earths from bauxite waste, including separating them into rare earth oxides and further refining them into rare earth metals. The plan involves a total investment of $134 million, of which approximately $67 million will support the project, aiming to reduce US dependence on foreign rare earth resources and enhance the security and resilience of the domestic critical mineral supply chain.

[SMM Rare Earth News Flash] The preliminary economic assessment of Ramaco Resources' Brook rare earth project in Wyoming showed that at an 8% discount rate, the after-tax net present value was approximately $1.2 billion, with an internal rate of return of 38%, initial capital costs of $473 million, and a payback period of approximately 5 years. The mine had a designed life of 42 years and was expected to produce 1,000 mt of total rare earth oxides annually. The project is the first new rare earth-critical minerals mine built in the US in seventy years, and construction of mining and pilot facilities is currently underway. The Phase 1 SRC processing facility of REalloys is expected to commence operations by the end of 2026 or early 2027, with a designed annual capacity of 525 mt of Pr-Nd alloy, 25 mt of dysprosium metal, and 12 mt of terbium metal.

[SMM Rare Earth News Flash] Ramaco Resources and REalloys signed a non-binding memorandum of understanding to establish a strategic partnership aimed at building a domestic US rare earth and permanent magnet supply chain. Ramaco will supply REalloys with mixed rare earth carbonates and scandium oxide produced from its Brook project in Wyoming, while REalloys will utilize SRC facilities for separation and processing. REalloys may secure supply rights to up to 20% of Ramaco's future production of critical materials. The Brook mine is the first new rare earth mine built in the US in over 70 years, and mining and pilot-scale processing facilities are currently under construction.