Energy Fuels produces first heavy rare earth oxides

[Ben Graham]

Energy Fuels (NYSE: UUUU) (TSX: EFR) says it has successfully produced the first kilogram of heavy rare earth oxides at pilot scale from its White Mesa mill in Utah.

For years, the Lakewood, Colorado-based company has been the leading US producer of natural uranium concentrate. Its White Mesa mill represents the country’s only licensed uranium mill, from which critical minerals such as vanadium and rare earth element (REE) oxides are produced.

Commercial production of REEs, in particular light rare earths neodymium (Nd) and praseodymium (Pr), started in June 2024 after three years of pilot work by Energy Fuels and subsequent commissioning of its rare earth separation circuit.

Recently, the company confirmed that the White Mesa facility also has the capability to produce heavy rare earths, namely dysprosium (Dy), terbium (Tb) and samarium (Sm), which are less common and are key to high-performance technologies such as military applications.

Successful production of these minerals would make it the first US supplier of HREEs that processes mined ores at a commercial facility, Energy Fuels has said. The HREE pilot project began in mid-July, beginning with Dy, then moving onto Tb and Sm. Pending its success, commercial production could begin as early as the fourth quarter of 2026.

High-purity Dy

On Thursday, the company revealed that its first batch of Dy production achieved a purity of 99.9%, which is well in excess of the 99.5% commercial specification. This announcement, it adds, makes Energy Fuels the first US company to both produce high-purity Dy oxide and publicly disclose actual production volumes and purities.

The oxides were produced from monazite mined in Florida and Georgia, demonstrating the expected viability of a completely non-Chinese rare earth oxide supply chain, Energy Fuels said, adding that multiple magnet manufacturers and OEMs have already expressed their strong interest in obtaining these samples to accelerate their validation processes.

The company also said it believes the quantity and purity of its Dy oxide production is “unmatched” in the US at this time and is a testament to White Mesa’s “world-class REE production capabilities.”

Shares of Energy Fuels were up 5% to $8.98 on the NYSE following the announcement, taking the company’s market capitalization to nearly $2 billion. The stock had plunged from its 52-week high of $10.74 earlier this week on overall weakness of the uranium sector.

HREE commissioning

“Energy Fuels’ high-purity Dy oxide production is a major leap toward securing a US supply of ‘heavy’ rare earth oxides for a variety of commercial and defense uses,” Energy Fuels CEO Mark Chalmers commented in a press release. “This is real, high-quality material in-hand, ready for independent testing, demonstrating that our Utah facilities can deliver world-class critical minerals domestically.”

The pilot-scale production is expected to continue until approximately 15 kg of Dy oxide are produced. At that point, Energy Fuels will begin producing high-purity terbium oxide and is targeting year-end for the first samples of Tb oxide to be available for end-user validation.

Due to the ongoing progress of this pilot project, the company said it plans to build and commission the commercial-scale HREE separation capacity at White Mesa to meet the Q4 2026 production timeline.