TSX-V-listed Ucore Rare Metals has produced commercial-grade 99.9% dysprosium oxide that will be sent to major rare earth permanent magnet and electronics manufacturers for technical evaluation.

Ucore delivering a qualification sample of dysprosium represents a significant milestone in the company's strategy to connect its planned Louisiana Strategic Metals Complex's (SMC's) rare earth separation outputs directly with downstream magnet, metal, alloy and advanced materials supply chains.

Dysprosium oxide is used in high-performance electronics and permanent magnets, particularly where magnets must retain performance, coercivity and stability at elevated operating temperatures.

Ucore also recently delivered neodymium and praseodymium oxide qualification samples to potential customers.

Through its commercialisation and demonstration facility (CDF) in Kingston, Ontario, Ucore has been focused on knowledge of rare earths processing through front-end leaching and impurity removal processes and through two conventional solvent-extraction pilot-scale circuits of 52 and 80 stages each.

Ucore has compared more than 16 000 samples produced from its RapidSX technology and those produced from conventional solvent-extraction circuits, proving that the chemistry is identical but that RapidSX is faster and more efficient.

The company is optimising its solvent-extraction chemistry to recover both light and heavy rare earths, while maintaining environmental, social and governance standards for solids and liquids handling.

"For downstream customers, dysprosium oxide quality is about much more than individual oxide parameters," says Ucore COO and VP Mike Schrider, adding that these samples will provide potential customers with the material they need to evaluate Ucore's dysprosium oxide against their own technical and compliance requirements.

"Customer feedback from this qualification work is being directly integrated to support the engineering and commercial planning of the Louisiana SMC. 

"Once again, the Kingston CDF continues to serve as the bridge between RapidSX commercialisation work and the product specifications, quality systems, and operating knowledge required for commercial deployment in Louisiana," Schrider states.

Meanwhile, Ucore last month announced a strategic cooperation framework with Sumitomo Corporation of Americas to support the development of a diversified rare earth supply chain across North America and allied markets.

The parties intend to collaborate on rare earths feedstock sourcing for Ucore's Louisiana SMC and downstream offtake development for selected middle and heavy rare earths.