U.S. Demand Jumps for Rare Earth, Battery-Grade Mineral Refining

American Resources Corporation (NASDAQ:AREC) (Fishers, Indiana) is expanding a U.S.-based project to meet the surging demand for rare earth oxides. This project joins a host of other developments geared toward the refining of domestically sourced materials used in batteries, operating systems and other capacities across multiple industries. Industrial Info is tracking more than $20 billion worth of active and proposed projects across the U.S. for the primary smelting and refining of rare earth and other battery-grade materials.

ReElement, an American Resources subsidiary, is developing a commercial-scale pilot plant in Noblesville, Indiana, to purify and isolate rare earth and critical elements from coal to produce rare earth concentrates. Following its completion, currently estimated for mid-2027, the plant could see an expansion to increase its output. Subscribers to Industrial Info's Global Market Intelligence (GMI) Metals & Minerals Project Database can read detailed reports on the initial project and its proposed expansion.

"While the site was not originally intended to be commercial, growing customer demand, especially following recent global trade shifts, has made it an essential part of our operations as we continue developing our larger Marion (Indiana) facility," said Mark Jensen, the chief executive officer of ReElement, in a press release. Jensen and other executives cited two recent executive orders by U.S. President Donald Trump that they say will bolster the rare earth minerals sector: to expand domestic mineral production and to investigate risks associated with U.S. reliance on imported refined critical minerals.

In February, ReElement started construction on a $100 million refinery in Marion, to source purified rare earth elements from end-of-life magnets, and to source lithium-ion battery input material from end-of-life batteries and manufacturing waste. The subsidiary already is considering an expansion upon its completion, as well as a post-treatment facility to recover metal salts, such as recycled lithium carbonate, nickel sulfate and cobalt sulfate, from black mass. Subscribers can read detailed reports on the refinery and its proposed expansion and post-treatment facility.

The magnets providing material for the Marion facility are created from rare earth elements, such as neodymium and samarium. For more information on how and where these magnets are used, see April 25, 2024, article - U.S. Rare Earth Magnet Projects Support New Technologies.

Later this year, Group14 Technologies Incorporated (Woodinville, Washington) expects to finish construction on its $1 billion BAM-2 Plant in Moses Lake, Washington, which will comprise a pair of commercial manufacturing modules. Each module is designed to produce 2,000 tons per year of Group14's SCC55 battery, which the company says is enough to power at least 100,000 electric vehicles.

Group14 also is considering the addition of a silane gas unit at the facility, which would produce 7,200 tons per year of silane for local silicon battery plants. Subscribers can read detailed reports on the BAM-2 Plant and its proposed silane gas unit.

Other projects set to wrap later this year include Sinova Global's (Edmonton, Alberta) $150 million silicon metal refinery in Tiptonville, Tennessee, to manufacture silicon anode batteries, solar cells, semiconductors and aluminum. It is located near a port on the Mississippi River, which will ease the delivery of product from the company's Horse Creek Quarry in Golden, British Columbia, which it is reopening to produce 400,000 tons per year of quartz (or silica) sand. Subscribers can read detailed reports on the silicon metal refinery and quarry.

"Quartz from this deposit requires very limited processing relative to material from other quartz operations," Sinova says on its site. "With high-purity silica and correspondingly low levels of impurities such as boron, iron, phosphorous and aluminum, the Sinova operation creates minimal by-products and requires less energy to process."

Subscribers to Industrial Info's GMI Project and Plant databases can click here for a full list of detailed reports for projects mentioned in this article, and click here for a full list of related plant profiles.

Subscribers can click here for a full list of reports for active and proposed projects across the U.S. for the primary smelting and refining of rare earth and other battery-grade materials.