SASKATOON — Natural Resources Canada (NRCan) has made a $4,990,000 investment in North America's first vertically integrated rare earth processing facility.
Since 2020, the Saskatchewan Research Council has been constructing and developing new technologies for a first-of-its-kind fully integrated, commercial demonstration rare earth processing facility with hydrometallurgy, solvent extraction and metal smelting stages.
According to SRC, this $71 million Government of Saskatchewan-funded facility will begin to establish an REE hub in Saskatchewan, forming an industry model for future REE initiatives and supply chain development.
Currently, SRC's facility can separate neodymium and praseodymium, before these elements are then processed into rare earth metal. This funding, through NRCan's Critical Minerals Research, Development and Demonstration program, will help SRC's facility develop advanced technologies to separate dysprosium and terbium, as well. These rare earths will be separated using SRC's proprietary, in-house developed solvent extraction technology - making Saskatchewan one of only a handful of jurisdictions with this capability worldwide, claims SRC.
"This funding allows SRC to complete an important step in the rare earth supply chain, adding the ability to demonstrate separation for dysprosium and terbium at our rare earth processing facility," SRC President and CEO Mike Crabtree said.
"Separating these rare earths is instrumental in the manufacturing of high-grade permanent magnets which are used in global modern technology."
