Published: June 15, 2026 |

[Click image to enlarge]

USA Rare Earth (USAR) has commissioned its hydrometallurgical demonstration facility in Wheat Ridge, Colorado.

First production of separated oxides is targeted for the third quarter of 2026 and is expected to make USA Rare Earth one of the few Western companies capable of delivering strategic heavy rare earth oxides at commercial quality — the latest milestone in USA Rare Earth’s mission to build a global leader in rare earths, critical minerals and advanced materials.

“The hydromet facility is the latest example of the proprietary technology and capabilities USA Rare Earth is scaling across the entire value chain,” said Barbara Humpton, chief executive officer of USA Rare Earth.

“From access to the limited supply of heavy rare earth feedstock, to processing and separation we are advancing at Wheat Ridge and through our planned investment in Carester. To the metals and alloys produced at LCM, to the permanent magnets we manufacture in the United States, we are rapidly building the only fully integrated rare earth platform of its kind outside China — moving deliberately and at speed to be the partner of choice in the materials the most critical industries depend on,” added Humpton.

USAR is building a fully integrated, global rare earth and critical mineral value chain, with embedded optionality for both supply and offtake at each link in the chain. Oxide production is expected to be supplied from a growing number of sources including Serra Verde,1 the only scaled producer of all four magnetic rare earths — including heavy rare earths — outside of Asia; Round Top, one of North America’s richest known sources of heavy rare earths with production targeted for late 2028; and other potential third-party sources. The resulting oxides are expected to feed Less Common Metals (LCM), the company’s subsidiary, one of the few commercial-scale metal, alloy and strip cast producers outside of China, which in turn is expected to supply USA Rare Earth’s permanent magnet business.

The facility has commenced an initial campaign to de-risk three processing flowsheets in parallel: ore from Round Top, third-party mixed rare earth carbonate (MREC) feedstock — including material from Serra Verde’s Pela Ema mine — and rare earth magnet swarf recycling. Insights from the campaigns are expected to underpin the Round Top definitive feasibility study, on track for Q4 2026 completion and Q1 2027 publication, and to guide commercial engineering of the planned on-site Round Top processing facility and the company’s anticipated third-party MREC processing and magnet swarf recycling facility.

“Very few companies outside China have proven they can produce separated oxides of neodymium and praseodymium (NdPr), dysprosium (Dy), terbium (Tb) and yttrium (Y) at commercial quality, and the best practices we have developed in-house are expected to put us in that small group,” said Dr. Alex Moyes, senior vice president of Mining and Processing at USA Rare Earth.

“The work at Wheat Ridge can help convert proven chemistry into bankable feasibility studies and move us closer to producing the rare earth materials America’s most critical industries depend on — from mine to magnet,” added Dr. Moyes.

PROGRAM SCOPE AND OBJECTIVES

The demonstration program is structured as a series of campaigns designed to systematically de-risk USA Rare Earth’s proprietary processing flowsheets across three strategic areas:

• Round Top Ore Processing
Validating and optimizing the hydrometallurgical flowsheet for ore from Round Top — one of the most significant heavy rare earth and critical mineral deposits in the United States — to produce separated oxides of Dy, Tb, Y, hafnium (Hf), zirconium (Zr) and other strategic elements.

• Third-party Feedstock Processing
Producing separated NdPr, Dy, Tb and Y oxides from externally sourced feedstocks — including material from Serra Verde’s Pela Ema mine — supporting potential toll processing and offtake partnerships.

• Magnet Swarf Recycling
Recovering NdPr, Dy and Tb from neodymium-iron-boron (NdFeB) magnet swarf, expanding feedstock sources and reinforcing the circularity of the company’s value chain.

PLANT OPERATIONS

The Wheat Ridge plant is fully automated and instrumented for real-time process monitoring across all unit operations, positioning it among the most advanced facilities of its kind in North America. A multi-stage solvent extraction circuit, live SCADA monitoring, and an on-site analytical laboratory enable rapid feedback loops and data-driven adjustments, supported by a team of 28 engineers, scientists and technicians operating in rotating shifts.

Process data will also serve as the foundational dataset for a digital twin development program with the U.S. Department of Energy’s National Energy Technology Laboratory (DOE NETL), enabling virtual simulation of the full processing flowsheet and accelerating the path to commercial deployment.

USA Rare Earth is building a fully integrated rare earth and permanent magnet supply chain across the United States, United Kingdom, and Europe. Through its ownership of LCM, one of the world’s leading producers of rare earth metals and alloys, and its development of magnet manufacturing capacity in Stillwater, Oklahoma, USAR operates across the entire value chain from heavy rare earth processing to metal-making, alloy production, and neodymium magnet manufacturing. By combining domestic feedstock from the Round Top deposit with advanced processing technologies, recycling capabilities, and a growing European industrial footprint, USAR is establishing a secure, sustainable, Western-aligned supply of materials essential to defense, electrification, robotics, renewable energy, and advanced manufacturing industries.

Be in-the-know when you’re on-the-go!

CLICK HERE to register your email address.

Copyright © 2026 Mining Connection LLC. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed without permission.

For licensing permission, .(JavaScript must be enabled to view this email address)