Ucore could lead Alaska rare earth development
BY LEE LESCHPER A Southeast Alaska project and eventual mine may soon be in the lead of the current rush to develop rare earth metal production in this country. Ucore Rare Metals Inc. (Ucore) is de- veloping plans for a rare earth process- ing plant in Ketchikan, the Alaska Stra- tegic Metals Complex (SMC), initially processing feedstock from elsewhere, with later plans to supply the plant with feedstock from Ucore’s Bokan Mountain project near Ketchikan. This comes at a time when the United States’ dependence on foreign sources, especially China for rare earth minerals, has become critical. “The sense of urgency is finally hit - ting home,” Pat Ryan, CEO of Ucore said recently. “The alarm bells are ringing. People are waking up from the Depart- ment of Energy to the White House to the Senate, they are all beginning to re- alize what is going on.” Creating the first US facility to pro - cess rare earth minerals in Ketchikan could not be more timely he said. “There is no separation of rare earth oxides on US soil. Presidential orders by Trump started to move in that direc- tion, and Biden in his first 100 days has called for a review of critical minerals supply chain vulnerabilities.” China dominates the rare earth sup- ply chain and is building both an eco- nomic and a worldwide dominance on the key components for everything from electric vehicles to F35s to smart- phones and renewable energy. “There is one operating rare earth mine in the United States,” he said. “All concentrate from that mine is sent to China, where they process it and keep it for use in China!” The Chinese focus on rare earth minerals cannot be underestimated, Ryan said “China has said ‘Saudi Arabi has the oil, but we have rare earths.’” Ryan has extensive experience in the auto industry and says automakers are taking the lead, driven by the need for future electric vehicles. Auto companies now must look at
several tiers of the supply chain that will support electric vehicles and are moving fast to secure lithium, cobalt and nickel for batteries and rare earth metals for electric motors. “It’s a very different world for auto - makers,” Ryan said “Ultimately it will be very good for Mother Earth. There are also a million North American jobs at stake.” In response, American automakers are investing heavily in vehicle electri- fication and the critical metals needed to support this transformation. “GM has announced 30 new electric vehicles by 2025 and is investing $27 billion (on electric vehicles). Ford is in- vesting $11.5 billion in 45 electric and hybrid vehicles by 2022. In Europe, VW (which had so many issues with diesel) is investing $37 billion in electric ve- hicles with a goal of 1 million sold by 2023.” Ryan likened today’s auto market to a century ago. “In 1907 the streets of Manhattan were full of horse and buggies—three years later it was all Model Ts. In 4-5 years, we are going to have a lot more electric vehicles.” That transition will require more charging stations as well as vehicles, he added, and President Biden had com- mitted to increasing the number of US charging stations from 30,000 to 500,000 by 2030. Vehicles are just one component, however. “The big one also is national de- fense. Everything from missile guid- ance systems to F35 fighters, to sonar guidance, and laser weaponry is driven by rare earth components.” The prospect of key components of the national defense supply chain be- ing totally in the hands of an adversary should be terrifying. “Beyond defense, are climate and health issues. Millions of people a year die from bad air, at least in part because of internal combustion engines.” And the rising crescendo of de- mands for renewable energy sources like wind turbines often neglects that
those technologies are also dependent on rare earth components, he said. That is the stage into which Ucore is moving quickly. Mike Schrider is vice president and chief operating officer for Ucore. “The events and resources are com- ing together,” Schrider said, creating an optimal environment for the Ucore concept and project. “We will start with sourcing US-al- lied feedstock, to ramp up in Ket- chikan,” Schrider said. Schrider works out of an office in New Hampshire today, but has spent many years in Southeast Alaska and Ketchikan since the 1990s, working on marine-related projects. The leadership team for Ucore combines an apprecia- tion of the assets both in Ketchikan and Bokan Mountain, with an entrepre- neurial background far beyond mining. “My background is in ships, but I’ve got a lifetime of work spent in design, management and building of projects,” Schrider said. “Our chairman and CEO, Pat Ryan, is cut from the same mold, as the founder and operator of a North American tier-one automotive supply manufacturer. He knows the auto in- dustry and the nuances required to be a dependable element of their supply chain.” That is a trend being seen nation- wide, as auto manufacturers scramble to find or create sources for the batter - ies, electric motors, and other compo- nents that they will need to meet new aggressive goals for producing electric vehicles. The Ketchikan project combines this new demand, with new much more ef- ficient refining technology and the rich mineral resources in Southeast Alas- ka—with a healthy dose of Ketchikan entrepreneurism. In May of 2020, Ucore acquired Innovation Metals Corp. (IMC) and their proprietary separa- tion and purification technology, Rap - idSX™. The RapidSX™ platform is an ac- celerated solvent-extraction (SX) based
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April 2021
The Alaska Miner
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