Energy Fuels completes acquisition of 17 mineral concessions in Brazil

As previously reported, the Bahia project is a well-known heavy mineral sand (HMS) deposit that has the potential to supply 3000 – 10 000 tpy of natural monazite concentrate for decades to Energy Fuels' White Mesa Mill in Utah for processing into high-purity rare earth element (REE) oxides and other materials. As used herein, the term "monazite concentrate" refers to an HMS concentrate containing roughly 80% to 90% monazite. While Energy Fuels' primary interest in acquiring the Bahia project is the REE-bearing monazite, the Bahia project is also expected to produce large quantities of high-quality titanium (ilmenite and rutile) and zirconium (zircon) minerals that are also in high demand. REE production is highly complementary to Energy Fuels' existing US-leading uranium business, as monazite and other major REE-bearing minerals naturally contain uranium that will be recovered and other impurities that will be removed at the Mill before further processing into advanced high-purity REE materials.

3000 – 10 000 t of monazite concentrate contains roughly 1500 – 5000 t of total REE oxides (TREO), including 300 – 1000 t of neodymium-praseodymium (NdPr) and significant commercial quantities of dysprosium (Dy) and terbium (Tb). The company is focused on monazite at the current time, as it has superior concentrations of these four critical REEs compared to other REE-bearing minerals. These REE's are used in the powerful neodymium-iron-boron (NdFeB) magnets that power the most efficient electric vehicles (EV), along with uses in other clean energy and defense technologies. For reference, a typical EV utilises roughly 1 or 2 kg of NdPr oxide in its drivetrain. Based on this assumption, monazite concentrate from the Bahia project alone is expected to supply enough NdPr oxide to power 150 000 to 1 million EVs per year. The uranium contained in the monazite, which is expected to be comparable to typical Colorado Plateau uranium deposits, will also be recovered at the mill.

Read the article online at: https://www.globalminingreview.com/mining/15022023/energy-fuels-completes-acquisition-of-17-mineral-concessions-in-brazil/