The United States Government has committed US$25 million ($38.3 million) to ReElement Technologies to expand domestic refining capacity for rare earths and other critical minerals.
The funding will be provided by the Department of War’s Economic Defense Unit (EDU) in partnership with the Office of the Under Secretary of War for Acquisition and Sustainment.
ReElement, a subsidiary of American Resources (NASDAQ:AREC), will use the funding for equipment, installation, and working capital to expand its critical minerals refining facility in Marion, Indiana.
The company has developed a patented chromatography-based process capable of refining a wide range of feedstocks, including recycled materials, mine waste, and primary ores, into high-purity critical mineral products.
“Strengthening our domestic refining capacity for rare earth elements and other critical minerals is a national security imperative,” Assistant Secretary of War for Industrial Base Policy Michael Cadenazzi says.
Cadenazzi says the investment will help rebuild a domestic mine-to-magnet supply chain to support the US industrial base.
The latest funding follows a previous US$80 million ($122.6 million) Pentagon investment announced last November.
The program will focus on processing end-of-life magnets and other recycled materials into high-purity rare earth oxides, yttrium, gadolinium, germanium, and gallium.
The Department says these materials are critical for advanced defence systems, aerospace applications, and secure communications.
Write to Jackson Chen at Mining.com.au
Image: ReElement Technologies
