US-based uranium, rare earth elements and vanadium producer Energy Fuels (NYSE American: UUUU) (TSX: EFR) announced that it has entered into a non-binding Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) with Astron Corporation to jointly develop the Donald rare earth and mineral sands project, in the Wimmera region of Victoria, Australia.

The Donald project is a world scale, ‘shovel-ready’ critical mineral deposit that the company said could provide near-term, low-cost, and large-scale source of monazite sand in an REE concentrate that would be transported to its White Mesa Mill in Utah for processing into REE oxides and other advanced REE materials and recovery of the contained uranium.

REEs are the building blocks of an array of clean energy and advanced technologies, including wind turbines, electric vehicles, cell phones, computers, advanced optics, catalysts, medicine, and national defense applications.

In 2021, Energy Fuels and Neo Performance Materials (TSX: NEO) created a new United States-to-Europe rare earth supply chain when the first container of mixed rare earth carbonate produced at the White Mesa Mill was shipped to Neo’s rare earth separations facility in Estonia.

With supportive US government policies, and US and European companies increasingly focused on security of supply, Energy Fuels said it is rapidly creating a new significant REE supply chain that can reduce America’s reliance on REE’s from China.

The company is aiming to secure long-term sources of REEs through offtake (Chemours), joint venture (Astron), and its 100% owned Bahia project in Brazil.

With its proposed investment of approximately A$180 million ($122m), and most licenses and permits in place or at an advanced stage of completion, the Donald project is expected to be a new, long-term source of several critical minerals key to the clean energy transition, including REE’s, titanium, zircon, and uranium, the company said.

The Donald project is expected to provide Energy Fuels with 7,000 to 14,000 metric tons of REEC per year, containing 4,000 to 8,200 tonnes of total REE oxides (TREO), with commissioning and ramp-up expected to begin in 2026.

In December, Energy Fuels started production at three of its permitted and developed uranium mines in Arizona and Utah and is  preparing two more mines in Colorado and Wyoming for expected production within a year.

Source: MINING.COM – Read More