Name of the Project
Round Top rare-earths element project.

Location
The pilot process plant will be built in Wheat Ridge, Colorado, in the US, to separate and purify rare earths and other tech metals leached from ore from the project.

Project Owner/s
Texas Mineral Resources Corp and USA Rare Earth. The latter has an option to earn and acquire an 80% interest in the Round Top project from Texas Mineral Resources.

Project Description
The project envisages a processing rate of 20 000 t/d, or 7.3-million tons a year, of rhyolite.

All minerals processing on site will be under­taken using continuous ion exchange and ion chromatography processing to generate high-purity rare-earth oxides (REOs), as well as technology metals and industrial minerals. REO production will average 2 312 t/y.

The Round Top deposit hosts 16 of the 17 rare-earth elements, plus other high-value tech minerals, including lithium, and is well located to serve US demand.

Potential Job Creation
Not stated.

Net Present Value/Internal Rate of Return
The project has a pretax net present value, at a 10% discount rate, of $1.56-billion and an internal rate of return of 70%, with a payback of 1.4 years.

Capital Expenditure
$350.4-million.

Planned Start/End Date
Not stated.

Latest Developments
The Round Top heavy rare earths and critical mineral project will be powered by only renewable energy, funding and development partner USA Rare Earth has reported.

Citing the National Renewable Energy Laboratory of the Department of Energy, USA Rare Earth has said that the average daily solar irradiance in south-western Texas is of more than 5.5 kWh/m2.

The company estimates it will require about 15 MW to support mining and processing, which it estimates will require a solar farm of about 18 ha. This could increase if the company decides to relocate its sintered neomagnet manufacturing facility and associated infrastructure to the Round Top Mountain site.

USA Rare Earth has indicated that Round Top will require either energy storage or trading, supplying excess energy to the grid balanced by drawing power at night and during the region’s infrequent periods of low irradiance.

Key Contracts and Suppliers
None stated.

Contact Details for Project Information
Texas Mineral Resources Corp investor relations, tel +1908451 4234 or email amarchese@tmrcorp.com.