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The U.S. Department of Defense (DOD) is granting Ucore Rare Metals $18.4 million to advance its rare earth element (REE) separation technology towards full-scale operations. The funding agreement with the U.S. Army Contracting Command-Orlando will aid in the construction of commercial production modules utilizing Ucore’s RapidSX technology at their facility in Alexandria, Louisiana.
The facility spans 80,800 square feet and aims to scale production from an initial 2,000 tonnes per annum (tpa) to 5,000 tpa, with a potential increase to 7,500 tpa. Construction is expected to begin in the second half of 2026. This latest funding builds on a previous $4 million DOD investment for a pilot project in Ontario, aimed at supporting the demonstration and commercialization of RapidSX technology.
Ucore has established supply agreements with ABx Group, Meteoric Resources, and Cyclic Materials for the Louisiana refinery, which will focus on processing various heavy and light total rare earth oxides.
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