- Business
- Ucore Rare Metals Inc. is a rare earth element (REE) processing company focused on the extraction, beneficiation, and separation of critical and rare metals. Founded in 2006 and headquartered in North America, Ucore owns a 100% stake in the Bokan-Dotson Ridge heavy rare earth element project in Southeast Alaska and operates advanced rare earth separation technology through its proprietary RapidSX™ process. The company manufactures and supplies rare earth oxide products and aims to build a North American rare earth supply chain by developing multiple Strategic Metals Complexes (SMCs) across the U.S., Canada, and Alaska. These SMCs leverage Ucore's scalable, modular RapidSX™ technology for REE separation and rare earth oxide production, with the first commercial facility under construction in Alexandria, Louisiana, designed to process initially 2,000 metric tons of rare earth oxides annually, scaling to 5,000 tons in later phases.
Recent major company developments include securing $18.4 million in funding from the U.S. Department of Defense to accelerate the construction and commercialization of the Louisiana processing facility, highlighting strategic importance in U.S. rare earth independence. Ucore also announced a preliminary 10-year offtake agreement with Critical Metals Corp. for high-grade rare earth concentrate from Greenland's Tanbreez project, ensuring critical heavy rare earth feedstock supply. Additionally, Ucore entered into a technology collaboration with Metallium Ltd. to integrate Metallium’s Flash Joule Heating process with Ucore’s RapidSX™ technology to create a comprehensive feedstock-to-oxide refining pathway. The company also recently signed a non-binding Heads of Agreement with Wyloo Gascoyne Pty Ltd and Hastings Technology Metals Ltd to secure rare earth feedstock from the Yangibana project in Australia. These strategic partnerships and expansions underscore Ucore’s positioning to challenge Chinese dominance in the rare earth sector by establishing a vertically integrated North American supply chain.
Ucore targets customers across the energy, defense, manufacturing, and electronics sectors reliant on rare earth elements for permanent magnets, semiconductors, and clean energy technologies. The company’s operations and projects span North America, with significant assets and development plans in Alaska, Louisiana, Canada, and supply agreements extending to Greenland and Australia. Ucore’s approach includes development of environmentally sustainable processing methods and aims to unlock Western access to heavy and light rare earth elements essential for advanced technologies and national security applications.