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    DOE $67M ElementUSA–Mines rare earth plant: flowsheet and capex notes for engineers

    June 4, 2026|

    Reviewed by Joe Ashwell

    DOE $67M ElementUSA–Mines rare earth plant: flowsheet and capex notes for engineers

    First reported on MINING.com

    30 Second Briefing

    The US Department of Energy has awarded $67 million to ElementUSA and Colorado School of Mines to design, build and operate a rare earth processing plant in St. John the Baptist Parish, Louisiana, using an integrated hydrometallurgical–pyrometallurgical flowsheet that co-produces pig iron and recovers scandium, gallium, germanium, yttrium and multiple REEs from bauxite residue. ElementUSA plans a phased build-out to a 1 Mtpa feed facility with an estimated $1.1 billion capex, underpinned by ~34 Mt of proven residue reserves secured under exclusive access. At full scale, the project could supply 45–385% of current US annual demand for several listed critical elements, turning a legacy alumina waste stream into a strategic feedstock.

    Technical Brief

    • ElementUSA’s flowsheet couples pyrometallurgical pig iron production with downstream hydrometallurgical critical-metal recovery.
    • The integrated circuit targets scandium, gallium, germanium, yttrium, neodymium, praseodymium, dysprosium, terbium and gadolinium.
    • Additional value streams include titanium, vanadium, niobium and tantalum recovery from the same bauxite residue feed.
    • Current bauxite residue inventory at St. John the Baptist Parish is about 34 million tonnes, proven.
    • ElementUSA will break ground on Phase 1 in Louisiana later this month, initiating site works.
    • The Critical Resource Accelerator in Cedar Park, Texas, functions as the lab‑to‑pilot hub for flowsheet validation.
    • Prior $29.9 million Department of War funding is already advancing gallium and scandium recovery and commercialisation pathways.

    Our Take

    With potential coverage of 45–385% of current US demand for elements such as neodymium, praseodymium, dysprosium and terbium, the Critical Resource Accelerator concept positions the United States as a possible net exporter for select magnet rare earths, which would likely pressure higher-cost primary mines in other jurisdictions.

    The parallel US$29.9 million Department of War project on gallium and scandium suggests ElementUSA and Colorado School of Mines are building a platform around defence-linked critical minerals, rather than a single-commodity rare earths play, which may make future funding rounds easier to structure across multiple agencies.

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    Prepared by collating external sources, AI-assisted tools, and Geomechanics.io’s proprietary mining database, then reviewed for technical accuracy & edited by our geotechnical team.

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