Highlights

• American Rare Earths begins a connected demonstration programme using concentrate from Halleck Creek in Wyoming.

• Novex constructs a small continuous pilot plant with two linked solvent-extraction circuits in the United States.

• The programme moves through laboratory testing, purified NdPr oxide production and conversion into NdPr metal.

• The three-stage programme targets completion in the first quarter of 2027, subject to testing results.

The next test for Halleck Creek material is not simply whether rare earth elements can be concentrated. American Rare Earths Limited (ASX:ARR) has begun a programme intended to take supplied concentrate through processing to neodymium-praseodymium oxide and then into a metal specimen. The work is a small-scale demonstration rather than commercial-scale production.

What Has Already Started?

Approximately 57 kilograms of concentrate produced from the Halleck Creek deposit in Wyoming has arrived at Novex’s US research facility. Novex has constructed a small continuous pilot plant featuring two connected solvent-extraction circuits. The concentrate will be divided among feed characterisation, laboratory testing, pilot operations and contingency material. The programme is being conducted through American Rare Earths’ Wholly Owned Subsidiary Wyoming Rare (USA), building on an earlier memorandum of understanding with Novex.

Why Is the Oxide-to-Metal Step Important?

The company’s programme addresses a specific point in the rare earth processing chain: separated oxides must be converted into metal and alloy before they are used to manufacture permanent magnets. Halleck Creek ore will pass through leaching, purification and separation before production of NdPr oxide and a subsequent metal sample. Completing those connected steps on the project’s own material will provide processing information about the ore and the selected route. Demonstration samples do not establish commercial operating capacity.

How Are the Three Phases Connected?

Phase 1 involves laboratory verification of leaching, filtration, washing, impurity removal and solvent extraction to choose operating conditions. Phase 2 uses a continuous pilot campaign to produce purified NdPr oxide, with a target purity of 99.99% and associated process measurements. Phase 3 is intended to convert qualified oxide into NdPr metal for analysis. Each phase depends on the preceding results: oxide generated in the pilot stage becomes the planned feed for the metal stage.

What Is the Timetable for the Results?

Feed characterisation and process review are scheduled for the December 2026 quarter, while laboratory completion, the oxide campaign and the metal demonstration are targeted for the March 2027 quarter. The work will also inform a separate, larger continuous pilot planned at the Saskatchewan Research Council in 2027. Timing depends on laboratory performance and analytical turnaround; delays in qualifying the oxide could push back the metal demonstration. The programme is designed to prove the processing route at demonstration scale.

What Comes Next?

The demonstration has been structured so that results from one stage determine the conditions for the next. Laboratory verification precedes continuous oxide separation, and only qualified oxide is intended to feed the metal conversion step. The planned Q1 2027 report should describe performance across that connected route. It will also provide information for the separately proposed Saskatchewan programme, without implying that either demonstration Facility is a commercial mine or Manufacturing plant.