Upton’s Chinese rare earth demonstration plant has officially started operations

A shakedown isn’t usually a good thing, but in the case of the rare earths demonstration plant built in Upton, it’s not just good, it’s great.

Shakedown is what Rare Element Resources calls the beginning stages of operations at a new plant, and that’s what they’ve now begun in Upton, having gotten the final federal thumbs-up they needed from the Nuclear Regulatory Commission.

“It’s not like you just turn on a switch and suddenly go through all the processes,” Kelli Kast, administrative assistant for Rare Element Resources, told Cowboy State Daily. “There are a lot of phases within the actual processing and separation, so it’s a bit of a phased start.”

This phase of operations involves extensive testing of every plant component, from equipment to plumb lines and everything in between.

That means some “people are already on the ground,” Kast said.

The ‘shakedown’ phase is expected to last until the end of the year, although the exact time frame will depend on the outcome of all testing of the equipment. After the shakedown is completed, full operations will commence, likely from early 2025, and thereafter for a period of twelve months.

Pioneering process to break monopolies

Upton’s demonstration plant represents a completely new approach to refining rare earths for commercial use, one that Upton believes will be more efficient and affordable than anything currently being done.

Rare earth metals are becoming increasingly valuable in a wide range of technology gadgets, ranging from mobile phones and tablets to electric vehicle batteries and nuclear missiles.

But until now, China has had a stranglehold on the rare earths market, stifling competition by flooding the market with abundant supply, keeping prices so low that it’s difficult for anyone else to compete. Recently, the country even halted the export of rare earth processing knowledge in an effort to maintain its dominance in this sector.

That’s what makes the Upton plant so important, not just in Wyoming, but to the nation and the world. Pioneering a new, cheaper method could create a new, domestic supply chain outside of China, breaking their near-monopoly.

The demonstration plant is located near world-class resources at the Bear Lodge deposit in Upton. Once the 12-month demonstration project is complete, Kast said, the plant will likely still have some use.

“This is a major investment and we believe there are other improvements possible within the demonstration project,” she said. “There may be other possibilities with the same technology, for example improving the technology for the separation of heavy rare earth elements or for other power sources. We are currently using sample material from Bear Lodge at the plant, but perhaps the plant can use other feed sources and perform the separation successfully.”

Future applications of the factory are still on the drawing board. Right now it’s about proving that their concept is commercially viable.

Once the process is proven, a large-scale processing and operations plant could be established at Upton, given its proximity to a world-class mining site. This would depend on a number of future factors, which have yet to be determined.

Building a future workforce

The start of the Upton demonstration plant looked in doubt this year after double-digit inflation postponed its planned July opening.

Rising prices added 21% more costs to the original $44 million price tag, making it look more like a $53 million project.

The U.S. Department of Energy invested about 10% more funding for the cost-sharing project, increasing federal support from $21.8 million to about $24.2 million, to keep the project on track.

The company also took several steps to keep the project timeline as close to the original as possible and worked on everything it could in advance of expected regulatory approvals.

That included hiring Gillette’s Wood PLC as a staffing contractor, which has already trained the employees who will work at the Upton facility.

Recruiting for the plant is now largely complete, Kast said, but some recruiting is still underway.

“To the extent that people are interested in current staffing levels for the plant’s goals, I think they can reach Wood from Sheridan,” she said. “They would be more than happy to vet candidates.”

A number of internships have also been added at the factory, according to Kast.

“This has generated a lot of interest from the University of Wyoming and different groups, whether it’s the geology group, the engineering group or the chemical engineering group,” Kast said. “They are all keen to understand some of this so they can gain knowledge of the sector.”

While the technology is proprietary, Kast said some things can be shared if there are good confidentiality agreements in place.

“We want to achieve something bigger than just a demonstration plant,” she said. “We really want to advance the industry, the rare earth industry, within the state. And we are very pleased to be at the center of that conversation, which includes educating people in Wyoming who understand the nuances of processing and separating rare earths.”

Renee Jean can be reached at [email protected].