- American Rare Earths (ASX:ARR) subsidiary Western Rare Earths is awarded research funding to develop scalable, bio-based separation and purification of rare earth elements (REE)
- The company will initially receive US$4 million (A$5.57 million) for the first phase of development but may receive an additional US$9 million for follow-on phases
- The grant is designed to provide support for the US Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency’s (DARPA) Environmental Microbes as a BioEngieering Resource (EMBER) program
- Feedstock from ARR’s La Paz and Halleck Creek projects in the US will be provided to researchers for the program
- Shares in American Rare Earths are trading 5.9 per cent higher at 27 cents each at 11:20 am AEST
American Rare Earths (ASX:ARR) subsidiary Western Rare Earths has been awarded research funding to develop scalable, bio-based separation and purification of rare earth elements (REE).
The company will initially receive US$4 million (A$5.57 million) for the first phase of development but may receive an additional US$9 million for follow-on phases.
One of the main goals of the program is to find ways to separate REE mixtures into individual elements.
Feedstock from ARR’s La Paz and Halleck Creek projects in the US will be provided to researchers.
Managing Director and CEO Chris Gibbs said the company would benefit from the research.
“We are honoured to have our US technical and management team collaborate with the leading researchers on cutting-edge technologies,” he said.
“Rare Earths separation and purification would benefit from a new tech stack combined with traditional mineral processing approaches.”
The research grant is designed to provide support for the US Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency’s (DARPA) Environmental Microbes as a BioEngieering Resource (EMBER) program.
The funding was awarded to a consortium led by Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory (LLNL) of which Western Rare Earths is the sole industry member.
Shares in American Rare Earths were trading 5.9 per cent higher at 27 cents each at 11:20 am AEST.