Operations begin — Upton rare earth minerals plant enters testing phase

Inside a refurbished industrial building in Upton, Rare Element Resources has begun the first phase of operations at its demonstration plant, shifting the site from preparation to active processing.

The company announced on March 24 that material is now moving through the system for the first time as part of its effort to advance the Bear Lodge rare earth project near Sundance.

Kelli Kast, Rare Element Resources’ chief administrative officer, said the plant is now entering a gradual startup sequence that will unfold in stages over the coming months.

“The initial operations will produce the first batch of total rare earth lixiviant that will then serve as feed to the remainder of the plant for further separation to ultimately produce high-purity NdPr,” Kast said.

That material will move through additional stages as the company works toward producing neodymium and praseodymium oxide, used in high-strength magnets. The final product is not expected immediately.

“NdPr oxide will not be produced for some time as the process unfolds,” Kast said.

The demonstration plant is expected to operate for about a year while the company evaluates whether the technology can support commercial development.

“More important than a time-based milestone is the demonstration of the capabilities of our technology,” Kast said.

Those results will help determine whether the company proceeds with a larger project tied to the Bear Lodge deposit, which has been under development for years.

The plant is employing about 20 people during its startup phase, and Kast said hiring is continuing through Wood PLC, its contracted labor group out of its Sheridan office.

Kast said the project is also expected to support the local economy through housing, lodging and other spending tied to plant operations, along with drawing attention to Upton and Weston County.

She said the demonstration plant’s environmental footprint is limited and confined to an existing industrial facility.

“As this is a demonstration plant, and not a commercial plant, the footprint is very small, and in an existing industrial area in Upton,” she told the NLJ. “The plant itself is in a fully refurbished existing facility. The processing waste is properly disposed of at a licensed facility out of state, and as this is not a commercial output plant, there is no measurable transportation of produced product.” 

At the same time, the company continues to advance permitting for the Bear Lodge Project, which would supply material
for a future operation. The project was recently accepted into the FAST-41 program, a federal initiative intended to coordinate and streamline environmental review. 

Kast said the Bear Lodge Project is advancing as the United States remains heavily reliant on foreign sources for rare earth elements. She said the company aims to position the project as part of a domestic supply chain, though its role will depend on technical results and permitting outcomes.

The company recently raised about $30.9 million through a rights offering to support operations and development. Kast said the funding will support current work, though additional investment may be needed for future initiatives, such as improving the efficiency of its technology, testing its ability to separate additional rare earth elements, expanding the plant into a commercial facility or adapting the process to handle material from other sources.

She said those decisions will depend on market conditions and the company’s broader priorities.

For now, the project remains in a stage where its future depends on both technical results and regulatory progress.

“The technical viability of the technology must be proven at the demonstration plant, and the regulatory requirements must be met for permitting the mine and commercial plant,” Kast said.

In the months ahead, work at the Upton plant will focus on testing the process and gathering the data needed to determine whether the project can advance beyond the demonstration phase.