The Saskatchewan Research Council (SRC) announced on Wednesday that its rare earth processing facility in Saskatoon has achieved commercial-scale production of rare earth metals ahead of schedule this summer, making Saskatchewan the first and only province in North America to reach this milestone. In July, SRC secured processing agreements with several international clients to convert individual rare earth oxides into metals using the facility's metal smelting technology. Since 2020, SRC's rare earth processing plant has received CAD 71 million in funding from the Saskatchewan government and CAD 30 million in joint funding from the Canadian government. SRC stated that this funding has been crucial for constructing a vertically and horizontally integrated "mine-to-metal" facility equipped with state-of-the-art proprietary technology. The SRC facility utilizes internally developed metal smelting technology to produce 10 tons of neodymium-praseodymium (NdPr) metal monthly, with a purity greater than 99.5% and a conversion rate exceeding 98%. Saskatchewan Premier Scott Moe stated in a media release, "Saskatchewan is the first and only jurisdiction in North America to produce these rare earth metals, further establishing the province as a rare earth technology hub." Moe added, "By establishing a safe and sustainable rare earth supply chain, Saskatchewan has the opportunity to become a world leader in critical mineral development." The SRC rare earth processing plant is expected to be fully operational by early 2025, with an estimated annual production of about 400 tons of praseodymium-neodymium metal, enough to power 500,000 electric vehicles. (Source: mining.com, etc.)
Canada has achieved mass production of rare earth metals such as praseodymium and neodymium, with a monthly production capacity of 10 tons of NdPr metal.
2024 08/04