Australian-based American Rare Earths has joined another top tier organisation formed as part of the race towards a secure and sustainable critical minerals supply chain in North America.
The company is already assisting several US Government backed R&D programs aiming to develop game-changing extraction, purification and separation processes of the rare earths needed to power the clean energy transition. Now American Rare Earths (ASX: ARR) has become a member of the Critical Minerals Institute.
The Critical Minerals Institute was recently established by industry leaders to provide education and collaboration opportunities in alternative energy production, as well as ESG technologies and practices. It will host its inaugural Critical Minerals Summit (CMS 2022) on November 9 in Toronto.
The Critical Minerals Institute is separate to the Critical Materials Institute, which is a Department of Energy (DOE) Innovation Hub, of which ARR is also a member.
Collaborators in high places
ARR is already involved with three US Government funded R&D projects aiming to develop a clean, green rare earths supply chain. These include the Department of Defense funded DARPA EMBER project, a Department of Energy Advanced Manufacturing Office funded project and a DOE Critical Materials Institute funded project.
The company’s collaborations raise its profile in the US, enabling it to work with some of the world’s brightest minds leading critical minerals R&D efforts. Via the Critical Materials Institute, for example, ARR is in alliance with several major American universities and national laboratories, including Columbia University and Tufts University.
Ultimately this high-level R&D work boosts ARR’s vision to be not just an explorer but a fully vertically integrated major rare earths supplier for products such as electric vehicles, offshore wind turbines, electronic devices and national security.
A giant leap for critical minerals
Marty Weems, President of ARR’s North American business said the company had been fortunate to work with the founders and Board Members of CMI in other capacities and was looking forward to engaging with other members of the organization.
“The formation of CMI marks a leap forward in collaborative opportunities with major stakeholders in the critical minerals industry,” he said.
“We are confident with their sphere of influence, capabilities and connections as we advance the North American supply of these minerals.
“The core pillars of success for our company are world-class mineral assets, talent and partnerships.
“CMI broadens our opportunities on all fronts. Its mission includes two very important components. The first is education, including much needed awareness raising among stakeholders, communities, and policy makers. The second is talent acquisition as finding great talent will differentiate the winners in this industry.”
Chris Gibbs, CEO and Managing Director of American Rare Earths, added: “The new Critical Minerals Institute, led by the esteemed Chair Jack Lifton, will make the industry stronger and more collaborative.
“We applaud the selection of ARR Board member Melissa (Mel) Sanderson to the CMI Board of Directors, and we extend our congratulations to Mel and all the team at CMI.
“We are excited to get to work as we all seek to bring control of critical minerals supply chains to the US and its allies.”
Billion tonne baby
The announcement of ARR’s newest partnership in the US closely follows its tripling of the exploration target at its Halleck Creek Project to an eye-watering 1.01 and 1.27 billion tonnes of rare earth mineralised rocks.
For context, very few rare earths resource estimates globally exceed one billion tonnes of rare earth metal oxide content. The vastly expanded exploration target from the Aussie company American Rare Earths is therefore confirmed that Halleck Creek, along with the company’s La Paz project, has the potential to be among the largest rare earths projects in North America.
Cashed up for growth
ARR is now ramping up development work at its large-scale projects backed by extra cash from its AU$14m placement completed last month with institutional and sophisticated investors. That included major ARR shareholder, long-term and ESG focused fund Fidelity International, tipping into the offering to maintain its 9.9% holding.
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