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Ucore forming JV to process rare earths from key US coal region

Ucore Rare Metals Inc. said March 7 that it is forming a joint venture with Kentucky River Properties LLC to process rare earth elements and strategic metals from the Appalachian coal region in the U.S.

The rare earth elements, or REE, group was deemed a critical mineral in a draft list published recently by the U.S. Department of the Interior.

Kentucky River Properties, or KRP, owns various coal properties in the Appalachian and Illinois basins. Ucore noted that recent governmental studies indicated significant concentrations of REE in representative samples from the areas.

Under the joint venture, Ucore and KRP will create a U.S.-based limited liability company. KRP will make its assets containing REE and strategic metals feedstock available to the new entity and will provide access to several potential sites for developing a regional refinery.

Ucore will provide processing and refining technologies and plant engineering, design, construction and maintenance services, in addition to downstream off-take relationships for acquiring high-purity output products by several sectors in the U.S., including the military.

The companies are assessing multiple locations in Kentucky, Illinois and Indiana for the centralized REE processing facilities, according to the statement.

Ucore, which recently outlined plans to begin REE production at its strategic metals complex in Alaska from 2020, secured a US$1 million research grant from the U.S. Department of Energy in mid-2017 for the production of salable REE from coal mining waste.