It’s a first for Saskatchewan and beyond. The Saskatchewan Research Council has announced that its Rare Earth Processing Facility produced rare earth metals at a commercial scale this summer, the only jurisdiction in North America to do so. SRC President and CEO says the facility is a fully integrated, commercial, demonstration Rare Earth Processing Facility which takes ore and separates out the rare earth elements and then makes those elements into rare earth metals. Mike Crabtree explains that rare earth metals are the key ingredient used to manufacture magnets which are used in electric vehicles. They are also used in wind turbines and electronics like smart phones and tablets.
copyright: SRC
The vast majority of both rare earth metals and permanent magnets are being produced in China. Crabtree says, “A lot of the existing production has a very poor record in terms of things like child labour and things like air, water, land pollution.” The SRC’s goal has been to produce these metals, but in an environmentally sustainable way, using state-of-the-art automated technology developed in-house. SRC is on track to upscale production to 40 tonnes of rare earth metals per month by the end of December and ultimately will reach 400 tonnes of the specific rare earth metal which would power 500,000 vehicles.
Premier Scott Moe states, “This represents a significant opportunity for Saskatchewan to be a world leader in the area of critical mineral development by establishing a secure and sustainable rare earth supply chain.” The Research Council plans to use the Rare Earth Processing Facility in Saskatoon as a starting point for creating a Rare Earth Elements technology hub, including the development of additional aspects of the supply chain for various rare earth metals.
Artificial Intelligence was used in the furnace for metal smelting. Crabtree explains that in China, the furnaces are monitored by workers 24/7, but through automation, the SRC has made the job safer by adding automation and the metal produced is actually purer. Since 2020 SRC’s Rare Earth Processing Facility has received $71 million from the Government of Saskatchewan, as well as $30 million in combined funding from the Government of Saskatchewan.
