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 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
USA Rare Earth is fully funded to the completion of a definitive feasibility study (DFS) for the Round Top project.

USA Rare Earth has completed funding of $50-million and has exercised an option to own 80% of the Round Top mine.

Part of the DFS includes the prefeasibility study, pilot plant and demonstration plant to be built at the Round Top site later this year.

The demonstration plant, which includes test heap-leach pads and continuous ion-exchange processing, will inform detailed engineering plans and provide presentative product samples to support offtake agreements.

“This will enable us to expedite, bringing Round Top into production and providing the necessary materials for . . . [electric vehicles] and advanced manufacturing, including the essential materials for chipsets, semiconductors and 5G, all of which are hosted at Round Top and are the focus of President Joe Biden’s recent executive order,” CEO Pini Althaus has said.

The Round Top joint venture has received construction stormwater permits from the Texas Commission on Environmental Quality and has started a 20 000 t bulk sample to support the feasibility studies and the demonstration plant.

The company’s wholly owned subsidiary, USA Rare Earth Magnets, is also fully funded to recommission the sintered rare earth permanent magnet manufacturing system that it acquired in 2020. 

Althaus has said that the company is nearing a decision on the site for its sintered rare earth permanent magnet plant, which will be in production in the second half of 2022.

The company has said it will continue to explore additional financing as required with its advisers, Goldman Sachs and Bank of Montreal.

Key Contracts, Suppliers and Consultants
None stated.

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