Ucore secures $18.4m US DOD funding for Louisiana rare earth processing plant
TSX-V-listed Ucore Rare Metals has signed an $18.4-million agreement with the US Department of Defense (DoD) to fund the initial construction of a commercial-scale rare earth separation facility in Louisiana.
The funding builds on Ucore’s existing $4-million DoD demonstration project and will support the deployment of its RapidSX separation technology at a full commercial scale, transitioning from pilot operations in Ontario, Canada, to a permanent facility in Alexandria, Louisiana.
The Louisiana Strategic Metals Complex (SMC) will house a RapidSX production module capable of separating key rare earth elements, including praseodymium, neodymium, samarium, gadolinium, terbium and dysprosium — six elements currently under Chinese export controls.
“This funding agreement is a critical step for Ucore’s commercial advancements, but more importantly, for the progression of a Western rare earth supply chain,” said CEO Pat Ryan. “North American critical metals security cannot exist without competitive processing on the world stage.”
The project is set to enter the construction and “early production” phase in the second half of 2026. Ucore aims to demonstrate commercial production capacity at the Louisiana facility before scaling up to its planned 2 000 t/y total rare earth oxide Phase 1 output.
The US DoD funding comes through a modification to Ucore’s existing other transaction agreement with the US Army Contracting Command-Orlando, supporting the US government’s goal of securing independent, domestic critical minerals processing capabilities.
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