Terres rares : Exploration et production miniére

[energy_isere]

India plans to kickstart rare earth output to cut China reliance

Bloomberg News | July 9, 2025 |

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Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi highlighted the need for a reliable supply of critical minerals at the BRICS gathering in Rio de Janeiro over the weekend. “It’s important to ensure that no country uses these resources for its own selfish gain or as a weapon against others,” Modi said at the event.

The South Asian nation aims to support three to four large companies in the production of about 4,000 tons of neodymium and praseodymium-based magnets using locally-mined raw materials over a period of seven years, according to the people and a policy proposal seen by Bloomberg News.
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https://www.mining.com/web/india-plans- ... -reliance/

[energy_isere]

MP Materials to supply Apple with US-made rare earth magnets in 2027
The magnets will be sourced from MP Materials' Fort Worth, Texas facility, known as Independence.

July 16, 2025

US-based rare earth producer MP Materials has entered into a definitive, long-term agreement with tech giant Apple to supply US-manufactured, sustainable rare earth magnets.

These magnets will be produced using 100% recycled materials in a significant step in both companies’ commitment to sustainable and domestic supply chains.

The magnets will be sourced from MP Materials’ Fort Worth, Texas facility, known as Independence, using recycled rare earth feedstock processed at its Mountain Pass site in California.

MP Materials founder, chairman and CEO James Litinsky stated: “We are proud to partner with Apple to launch MP’s recycling platform and scale up our magnetics business.

“This collaboration deepens our vertical integration, strengthens supply chain resilience, and reinforces America’s industrial capacity at a pivotal moment.”

Since 2020, Apple and MP Materials have been developing advanced recycling technology to produce recycled rare earth magnets that meet Apple’s stringent performance and design criteria.

As a result of this collaboration, MP Materials will establish a commercial-scale, dedicated recycling line at the Mountain Pass facility to process a variety of materials, including magnet scrap and components from end-of-life products to be used as feedstock.

To meet the terms of the agreement with Apple and its partnership with the US Department of Defense (DoD), MP Materials will increase the capacity of its Fort Worth magnetics facility to establish neodymium magnet production lines tailored for Apple products.

The advanced equipment and technical capabilities will enable MP Materials to significantly increase its overall output.

Apple became one of the first tech companies to secure a supply agreement after China curbed exports in early 2025.

Apple will prepay MP Materials $200m for shipment of magnets to begin in 2027, as reported by Reuters.

The two companies will work together to drive technological advancements in magnet production and the recovery of materials at the end of a product’s life.

Apple CEO Tim Cook stated: “American innovation drives everything we do at Apple, and we’re proud to deepen our investment in the US economy. Rare earth materials are essential for making advanced technology, and this partnership will help strengthen the supply of these vital materials here in the United States. “We couldn’t be more excited about the future of American manufacturing, and we will continue to invest in the ingenuity, creativity and innovative spirit of the American people.”

https://www.mining-technology.com/news/ ... h/?cf-view

[energy_isere]

Les terres rares Made in USA se portent bien
MP Materials, la société qui exploite la seule mine de terres rares en activité aux États-Unis a vu son chiffre d’affaires bondir de 84 % au second trimestre 2025. Il y a un mois, Apple et le Pentagone ont investi des centaines de millions de dollars dans l’entreprise minière californienne.

Julien Gouesmat le 08/08/25 latribune.fr

MP Materials, seule société à exploiter une mine de terres rares en activité aux États-Unis, a dévoilé hier des résultats trimestriels encourageants. L'entreprise a enregistré une hausse de 84 % de son chiffre d'affaires par rapport à la même période l'an dernier. La perte ajustée a reculé à 12,5 millions de dollars (contre 27 millions un an plus tôt) et l'action du groupe a bondi de 9,6 % en pré-ouverture.

Cette embellie repose sur une production record d'oxyde de néodyme-praséodyme (NdPr), en hausse de 119 % sur un an, atteignant 597 tonnes. À elle seule, cette production permettrait de fournir environ 500 000 moteurs de véhicules électriques par an. Surtout, cette production record de matière première intervient à un moment stratégique : au cours du mois d'avril, en pleine tension commerciale sino-américaine, MP Materials a cessé ses exportations vers la Chine, qui représentaient encore la majorité de ses revenus en 2024.

Chaîne de valeur intégrée

Si l'arrêt de ces exportations a d'abord été présenté comme une forme de prudence face aux droits de douane, il reflète surtout la réussite du pari de la chaîne de production Made in USA. En effet, il y a moins d'un an, les terres rares extraites de la mine de Mountain Pass par MP Materials devaient être expédiées en Chine pour être séparées et raffinées. Ces deux étapes sont essentielles avant la conception des aimants de terres rares, utilisés dans les voitures, éoliennes, drones, etc.

Mais en janvier, l'entreprise américaine jubile : sa nouvelle usine texane de Fort Worth produit les tout premiers aimants néodyme fer bore Made in USA, symbole d'un contrôle désormais quasi complet de la chaîne de valeur et d'une plus grande indépendance de l'entreprise vis-à-vis de la Chine. Résultat, le segment magnétique de l'entreprise affiche ainsi une croissance fulgurante : son chiffre d'affaires a quadruplé en trois mois, atteignant près de 20 millions de dollars, d'après les résultats annoncés hier.

Apple et le Pentagone à la rescousse

Malgré ces signes de réjouissance, l'entreprise continue de vivre sous perfusion. Les prix du marché, dictés par l'offre chinoise sont particulièrement bas et obligent l'État fédéral à soutenir son producteur stratégique. Début juillet, le Pentagone a officialisé un investissement de plus de 400 millions de dollars, qui fera de lui le premier actionnaire de MP Materials, à hauteur de 15 % du capital. Surtout, l'accord prévoit également un prix plancher de 110 dollars le kilo de néodyme-praséodyme pendant dix ans, soit près du double des prix pratiqués par la Chine.

Cette stratégie s'inscrit dans le vaste programme de réindustrialisation lancé par la deuxième administration Trump. Cette dernière multiplie les investissements dans les chaînes de valeur critiques. Quelques jours après l'annonce du Pentagone, Apple a révélé un investissement de 500 millions de dollars dans MP Materials. Une manière de sécuriser l'approvisionnement en aimants permanents, utilisés dans les iPhone et MacBook, mais aussi dans les futurs appareils de réalité augmentée.

Fort de ces nouveaux soutiens, MP Materials prévoit déjà la construction d'une seconde usine de fabrication d'aimants, qui porterait la capacité totale du groupe à 10 000 tonnes par an d'ici à 2028, avec pour objectif de répondre à la demande croissante du secteur de la défense, comme celui de l'automobile.

Un challenger surgit du Wyoming

Bien qu'il jouisse pour le moment d'un monopole aux États-Unis, la montée en puissance de MP ne se fait pas sans concurrence. Le 11 juillet, la société Ramaco Resources a inauguré la première nouvelle mine de terres rares aux États-Unis depuis plus de 70 ans, dans le Wyoming. Le site de Brook Mine pourrait produire jusqu'à 1 400 tonnes par an, selon son PDG, Randall Atkins, qui revendique la découverte inattendue d'un important gisement d'éléments lourds, jugés plus précieux que ceux produits à Mountain Pass.

Contrairement à MP, Ramaco finance son projet sur fonds propres, adossé à une activité charbonnière rentable. Le timing lui est favorable : une nouvelle loi fiscale signée par le président Trump début juillet inclut un crédit d'impôt pour les producteurs de charbon métallurgique, principale source de revenus de Ramaco. Randall Atkins ne cache pas ses ambitions : établir un indice américain des prix des terres rares et militer pour la création d'une réserve stratégique nationale, sur le modèle de la réserve pétrolière.

Il espère aussi que Washington accordera à Ramaco le même niveau de soutien que celui dont bénéficie MP Materials, même s'il affirme ne pas vouloir de participation publique directe. À ce stade, l'entreprise est déjà en contact avec le Conseil national pour la domination énergétique, créé en février par l'administration Trump, et pourrait prochainement solliciter le ministère de la Défense. MP Materials, malgré ses soutiens déjà acquis, devra désormais compter avec ce concurrent indépendant, potentiellement mieux positionné sur les terres rares lourdes et bénéficiant du soutien politique de figures républicaines influentes, comme les sénateurs John Barrasso (Rép., Wyoming), Joe Manchin (Dém., Virginie occidentale) ou Cynthia Lummis (Rép., Wyoming). Cette dernière a d'ailleurs salué l'ouverture de Brook Mine comme « une déclaration d'indépendance énergétique américaine pour le XXIe siècle ».

https://www.latribune.fr/economie/inter ... 30947.html

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suite de ce post du15 juin2025 : viewtopic.php?p=2412910#p2412910

Trump Eyes First Overseas Mining Deal: US Weighs $120M Loan For Critical Minerals’ Greenland Rare Earths Project

August 15 2025

Critical Metals Corp. (CRML) has secured a letter of interest from the U.S. Export-Import Bank (EXIM) for a loan of up to $120 million to fund its Tanbreez rare earths mining project in Greenland, according to a Reuters report dated June 15.

The report referenced a letter stating that Critical Metals had satisfied the initial criteria to qualify for a $120 million loan from EXIM.

If approved, the loan would have a 15-year repayment term, longer than the company would likely have obtained through private financing.

However, the letter also noted that the project must be “well-capitalized with sufficient equity from strategic investors” to qualify for the funding. The project is expected to cost $290 million.

Tanbreez Mining Greenland operates the Tanbreez Project. Critical Metals currently holds a 42% stake, with the option to increase its ownership to 92.5%. European Lithium (7.5%) and Rimbal (50.5%) hold the remaining interests.

Earlier this month, Critical Metals said that the deep diamond drilling at Tanbreez revealed wider, high-grade mineralization. The site is home to one of the largest rare earth deposits in the world, with a 4.7 billion metric ton mineralized kakortokite unit.

This enables the company to potentially double the current Maiden Resource Estimate (MRE), raising the exploration target to 500MT of rare earth material, up from the earlier 225MT target.

Rare earth minerals have been a key flashpoint in the U.S.-China trade war. Chinese President Xi Jinping halted exports of rare earths and related magnets in response to tariffs imposed by US President Donald Trump.

However, following trade talks in London last week, Trump announced that China has agreed to resume shipments of “full magnets and any necessary rare earths,” easing pressure on global supply chains.

The Tanbreez project could become the Trump administration’s first international investment in a mining venture.

The stock surged over 26% to $2.03 in Friday’s trading session, before paring some aftermarket trading gains.

Retail sentiment turned ‘extremely bullish’ on Stocktwits, amid ‘high’ message volumes.

CRML's Sentiment Meter and Message Volume as of 12:34 a.m. ET on June 16, 2025 | Source: Stocktwits

One user expects the stock to rise to $25 by the end of 2025.

The stock is down over 70% year-to-date as of Friday’s close.

https://www.msn.com/en-in/news/world/tr ... elemetry=1

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suite de ce post du 02 mars 2025 : viewtopic.php?p=2407680#p2407680

American Rare Earths produces high-purity rare earth oxide concentrates from Halleck Creek ore

15 Aug 2025

American Rare Earths Ltd (ASX:ARR, OTCQB:ARRNF) has reported the first production of high-purity light and heavy rare earth oxide (LREO and HREO) concentrates from its Halleck Creek project in Wyoming, with purities of 96.4% and 97.1%, respectively. Both are critical feedstocks for permanent magnets, widely used in defence, clean energy and advanced technology applications.

The concentrates were produced from the project’s allanite-based ore by the University of Kentucky, in collaboration with Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory and Penn State University under the SynBREE consortium, as part of the US Department of Defense’s DARPA EMBER program, which is trialling biotechnology-based methods to separate and purify rare earth elements for critical applications including permanent magnets.

First-time production using Halleck Creek ore

This marks the first time that rare earth oxide concentrates have been produced from Halleck Creek ore. Since 2023, ARR has supplied around 840 kilograms of material from 36 drill holes for the EMBER project, testing biotechnology-based separation and purification methods.

The SynBREE consortium’s laboratory-scale flowsheet uses the Lanmodulin protein to recover rare earths from leachates, offering a potential alternative to conventional separation processes. While still in the research phase and yet to be commercially proven, the method successfully extracted rare earth element (REE) oxides from allanite minerals and could be considered alongside future processing options.

Interim CEO Joe Evers said the results were another significant milestone for the SynBREE consortium.

“These results provide a very meaningful third-party validation that light and heavy rare earths oxides can be produced from the Halleck Creek allanite-hosted ore body,” he said.

Outside current PFS scope
ARR stressed that the SynBREE work is independent of its ongoing pre-feasibility study (PFS) at Halleck Creek. The company’s wholly owned US subsidiary, Wyoming Rare (USA) Inc, is focused on developing a flowsheet using conventional mineral processing techniques, with optimisation work already under way.

While the EMBER project explores emerging bio-recovery pathways, the PFS aims to define a commercially viable process for mining and refining rare earths onsite in Wyoming, positioning Halleck Creek as a potential cornerstone of US supply chain security.

Technical process
The University of Kentucky’s process involved:

Concentrating allanite using heavy liquid separation.
Leaching with hydrochloric acid.
Removing about 98% of iron, aluminium and silica using sodium hydroxide (with about 15% REE loss in impurity removal).
Solvent extraction to separate light and heavy rare earth-rich solutions.
Precipitating oxalates and calcining to produce the oxide powders.
The team recovered about 82% of total rare earths from the leachate solution.

ARR’s Halleck Creek project is considered one of the largest known rare earth deposits in the US, strategically located in a mining-friendly jurisdiction with potential for cost-efficient open-pit mining and streamlined permitting. The company continues to advance both conventional and innovative processing pathways to meet growing domestic demand for critical minerals.

https://www.proactiveinvestors.com.au/c ... 76912.html

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suite de ce post du 04 mai 2025 : viewtopic.php?p=2410716#p2410716

Aclara Resources, Virginia Tech launch rare earth separation pilot plant

Staff Writer | August 12, 2025

Aclara Resources (TSX: ARA) has entered into a strategic partnership with Virginia Polytechnic Institute and State University for the operation of its rare earth separation pilot plant.

The plant, currently under implementation at the Virginia Tech Corporate Research Center in Blacksburg, will showcase Aclara’s solvent extraction technology for producing individual high-purity light and heavy rare earth elements, the company said.

The facility is expected to produce over 99.5% pure didymium/praseodymium-neodymium (NdPr), terbium (Tb) and dysprosium (Dy) from Aclara’s sustainable Brazil-sourced feedstock—creating a supply chain for critical rare earth elements outside of China.

The Canadian rare earth developer has said its Carina deposit, located in the state of Goiás, could generate 191 tonnes a year of dysprosium and terbium, heavy rare earths used in electric vehicle manufacturing.

Aclara opened in April its semi-industrial heavy rare earth pilot plant, which it will use to test the production of dysprosium and terbium from ionic clay extracted from the Carina project.

Last month, the company formed an alliance with Stanford University to accelerate the development of AI innovations aimed at securing a sustainable supply chain for heavy rare earth elements.

The partnership unites Aclara’s proprietary separation technology with Virginia Tech’s leadership in mining and materials science to strengthen domestic access to critical minerals, advance R&D, and prepare the next generation of skilled talent, the company said in a news release.

https://www.mining.com/aclara-resources ... lot-plant/

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suite de ce post du 7 juillet 2024 : viewtopic.php?p=2394494#p2394494

Arafura Rare Earths eyes $100 million in export agency funding

Reuters | August 12, 2025


Nolans rare earth project. Credit: Northern Australia Infrastructure Facility

Arafura Rare Earths has received a letter of interest from Australia’s export finance agency about potential funding for its Nolans project in the Northern Territory, which a source said would likely amount to around $100 million.

Export Finance Australia has provided a non-binding letter of interest for funding support for the project, Arafura – which is backed by billionaire Gina Rinehart – said in an exchange filing on Tuesday.

The potential funding is part of a Western push to develop rare earths supply chains with international partners outside of top producer China. Australia’s resources minister last week said the government was considering price floors to support critical minerals projects, including for rare earths.

“We will now be advancing due diligence with both of these parties,” Arafura’s CEO Darryl Cuzzubbo said.

The funding, which is yet to be decided on but is likely to be in the vicinity of $100 million, would mean that Arafura would be able to “materially close” a cornerstone equity target that is 60% of the $775 million total equity requirement, the source said.

The backing follows Prime Minister Anthony Albanese’s announcement last year that Australia would provide up to A$840 million ($547.85 million) for Nolans, the first combined rare earths mine and refinery in the Northern Territory.

The project has also entered an appraisal phase for potential equity investment from Germany’s Raw Materials Fund after being referred by the country’s Interministerial Committee last month.


Rinehart’s Hancock Prospecting is Arafura’s largest shareholder with an 8.57% stake, per LSEG data.

Shares of the company were down 2.4% at A$0.2 as of 0258 GMT, while the broader mining sub-index fell 0.2%.

($1 = 1.5333 Australian dollars)

https://www.mining.com/web/australias-a ... urce-says/

[energy_isere]

La Chine menace les industriels de restreindre leur approvisionnement en terres rares s'ils constituent des stocks

Pauline Lecouvé BFM 19 aout2025

La Chine a informé les entreprises étrangères qu'elles pourraient subir des restrictions supplémentaires d'approvisionnement en terres rares si elles constituaient des stocks.

Pas de stocks. La Chine, qui contrôle 90% de la production de terres rares, a averti les industriels étrangers que leur tentative de constituer de gros stocks pourrait les conduire à faire face à de plus grandes restrictions d'approvisionnement, rapporte le Financial Times, mardi 19 août.

En réponse à la guerre commerciale déclenchée par Donald Trump et l'instauration de nouveaux droits de douane américains, Pékin a mis en place des restrictions sur les exportations de terres rares, ces métaux indispensables pour plusieurs secteurs industriels, dont la défense. D'après le Financial Times, la Chine limite délibérément les exportations de terres rares afin de garder le contrôle sur cette ressource stratégique. Constituer un stock permettrait aux entreprises étrangères d'être moins dépendantes aux fluctuations de prix ainsi qu'aux restrictions.

Les commandes trop importantes annulées

Un rapport réalisé par l'USCBC affirme que les commandes de terres rares sont désormais passées en revue afin de détecter les entreprises qui tentent de se constituer un stock. Les commandes "supérieures aux moyennes habituelles" des entreprises étrangères peuvent ainsi exposer celles-ci à des "retards ou des annulations de commande", indique le rapport.

Ces restrictions incitent certaines entreprises étrangères à délocaliser leur production en Chine. Le constructeur automobile américain Regal Rexnord Corp a délocalisé une partie de sa production en Chine, rapporte le Financial Times. L'industrie automobile est en effet très dépendante des terres rares, notamment celles utiliser pour assembler des aimants.

En juin, la Chine a exporté 3.188 tonnes d'aimants en terres rares, 38% de moins que l'année dernière. Pour faire face à cette baisse, les Américains et les Européens cherchent à rouvrir des mines et des raffineries sur leur territoire et même a développer de nouvelles technologies pour les extraire.

https://www.bfmtv.com/economie/internat ... 90430.html