Allanite Rare Earths Processing Breakthrough: Successful Completion of Impurity Removal Neutralization Tests

Core Insights - American Rare Earths has achieved a significant milestone in its mineral processing program by successfully completing the first phase of impurity removal testing, confirming the effective removal of key contaminants from Halleck Creek ore [2][6][9] Impurity Removal Testing - The impurity removal tests demonstrated that contaminants such as iron, aluminum, silica, thorium, and titanium can be effectively removed from leachate solutions, with minimal formation of problematic by-products like gypsum and silica gel [2][5][9] - The primary neutralization process using 15% magnesium oxide (MgO) at a pH of 3.15 removed 99.8% of iron, 89.0% of silica, 92.9% of thorium, and 99.4% of titanium, with average rare earth element (REE) losses of only 0.6% for light rare earth elements (LREE) and 0.8% for heavy rare earth elements (HREE) [6][9][32] - Secondary neutralization tests further removed 99.4% of iron, 96.3% of aluminum, and 71.0% of silica, with average REE losses of 7.6% for LREE and 16.7% for HREE [7][32] Reagent Selection and Cost Efficiency - Magnesium oxide was selected as the optimal neutralizing reagent due to its cost-effectiveness and superior performance in impurity removal compared to other tested reagents [4][25][26] - The testing program indicated that using MgO minimizes the formation of unwanted by-products, which historically posed technical and economic challenges in processing allanite-based rare earths [5][25] Future Steps in Processing - The successful completion of impurity removal testing is a major metallurgical processing milestone that will inform the design of the mineral processing flow-sheet for the upcoming Pre-Feasibility Study [9][11] - The next steps include creating a mixed rare earth oxide, which is essential for solvent extraction and the production of separated rare earth oxides used in permanent magnets [3][16] Project Significance - The Halleck Creek Project is positioned to enhance U.S. critical mineral independence by reducing reliance on imports, particularly from China, while meeting the growing demand for rare earth elements essential for defense and advanced technologies [39][40]