DOE $67M ElementUSA–Mines rare earth plant: flowsheet and capex notes for engineers
Reviewed by Joe Ashwell
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.
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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