Magnetics Business & Technology - November/December 2021 - 24

INDUSTRY NEWS
Neo Performance Materials and Energy Fuels Begin Shipments to Launch
US-to-Europe Rare Earth Supply Chain
Rare earth carbonate processed by Energy Fuels at its White Mesa plant in Utah is loaded into a shipping container for transport to Neo Performance
Materials' rare earth separations facility in Sillamae, Estonia
Marking an important step in the creation of a new United
States-to-Europe rare earth supply chain, the first container of
mixed rare earth carbonate produced by Energy Fuels at its
White Mesa Mill in Utah has been shipped to Neo Performance
Material's rare earth separations facility in Estonia. Additional
shipments of the carbonate are expected to follow as Energy
Fuels continues to process more of the natural monazite sand
ore, mined in the American state of Georgia by Chemours, for
both the rare earth elements and naturally occurring uranium that
it contains.
The new supply chain will initially produce rare earth products
from monazite that is processed into rare earth carbonate at
the Utah facility. The material is then processed by Neo at its
Silmet rare earth processing facility in Sillamae into separated
rare earth oxides and other value-added rare earth compounds.
Neo is the only commercial producer of separated rare earth
oxides in Europe. Produced as a byproduct of existing heavy
mineral sands mining, monazite also contains naturally occurring
uranium that Energy Fuels recovers for use in the generation of
carbon-free nuclear energy.
This commercial-scale production of rare earth carbonate by
Energy Fuels from a U.S. mined rare earth resource positions it
as the only company in North America that currently produces a
monazite-derived, enhanced rare earth material. The physical
delivery of this product also represents the launch of a new, environmentally
responsible rare earth supply chain that allows for
source validation and tracking from mining through to final enduse
applications for manufacturers in North America, Europe,
Japan, and other nations, say the parties.
Energy Fuels, which is based in Lakewood, Colorado, and Neo,
which is based in Toronto, also announced the signing of a definitive
supply agreement by which Energy Fuels will ship all or a
portion of its rare earth carbonate to Neo's Silmet plant. Neo will
Mark Chalmers, Energy Fuels CEO; Lucas Shumway, Energy Fuels'
director of conventional operations; and Constantine Karayannopoulos,
CEO of Neo Performance Materials at Energy Fuels loading station
in Utah
In addition to supplying the carbonate to Neo, Energy Fuels
is also evaluating the potential to develop its own separation
capabilities at its White Mesa Mill or nearby, and possibly adding
metals, alloys and rare earth permanent magnets manufacturing
capabilities. As a first step, the company has hired the French
firm, Carester SAS, a leading global expert in rare earth separation
and supply chains, to produce a scoping study including cap24
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then process it into separated rare earth materials for use in rare
earth permanent magnets and other rare earth-based advanced
materials. Because of increasing demand for value-added rare
earth materials in European manufacturing, Neo seeks to expand
and diversify its current supplies of rare earth feedstock at Silmet,
which is the only operational rare earth separations facility
in Europe. Silmet has been separating rare earths into commercial
value-added products for more than 50 years.
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Magnetics Business & Technology - November/December 2021

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