Rare Earth Processing Facility

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Rare Earth Processing Facility

Canada's First Rare Earth Processing Facility

The Government of Saskatchewan and SRC are excited to announce the development of a Rare Earth Processing Facility - the first-of-its-kind in Canada - laying the foundation for a Rare Earth Element (REE) supply chain in Saskatchewan and forming an industry model for future commercial REE resource expansion in the province. Read the News Release. 

Latest News

SRC has received an additional investment from Prairies Economic Development Canada for the establishment and commercialization of a process to recover rare earth oxides from monazite tailings and the development of an automated metal smelting process to produce commercial grade rare earth element metals.

Read the news release.

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Resources

Learn more about our Rare Earth Processing Facility in these resources:

brochure 

FAQs 

 

SRC employs world-class REE experts and is a leader in the development of processing technologies. We are working closely with mining companies in Saskatchewan, Canada and globally on the concentration of REE ore. Learn more about our REE services

In the news

  • Minister Vandal Announces Investment in Processing of Rare Earth Elements in Saskatchewan - Read
  • SRC REE Newsletter February 2024 - Read
  • NRCan Funding Advances Technology at SRC's First-of-Its-Kind Rare Earth Processing Facility - Read
  • SRC and North West College Collaborate on New Plastic Welding Pilot Program - Read
  • SRC REE Newsletter October 2023 - Read
  • Saskatchewan at the forefront of Rare Earth Elements - Read
  • Commerce Resources Signs LOI with SRC for Mixed Rare Earth Carbonate - Read
  • SRC REE Newsletter May 2023 - Read
  • SRC Rare Earth Processing Facility Statement - Read
  • Saskatchewan Releases New Critical Minerals Strategy - Read
  • SRC REE Newsletter January 2023 - Read
  • SRC Signs Memorandum of Understanding with Star Group Ind. on Further Developing the REE Supply Chain - Read
  • SRC REE Newsletter November 2022 - Read
  • How SRC is Using Metal Smelting for Rare Earths - Read
  • SRC REE Newsletter June 2022 - Read
  • $7.5M for Rare Earth Elements Processing Facilities in Saskatchewan - Read
  • SRC Achieves a Significant Milestone in Advancing Canada's Rare Earth Element Supply Chain - Read
  • Building the Rare Earth Element Supply Chain: Challenges and Opportunities - Read
  • Government of Saskatchewan Provides Additional Funding for SRC Rare Earth Processing Facility Expansion - Read
  • SRC Signs Memorandum of Understanding with KOMIR on Critical Minerals - Read
  • SRC REE Newsletter March 2022 - Read
  • SRC Signs Letter of Intent with E-Tech Resources Inc. - Read
  • SRC Joins Rare Earth Industry Association - Read
  • SRC REE Newsletter August 2021 - Read
  • SRC is a proud member of the Canadian Critical Minerals and Materials Alliance
  • Saskatchewan Gets Top Global Ranking in International Mining Report - Government of Saskatchewan News Release
  • Search Minerals and SRC Enter Into Memorandum of Understanding - Globe Newswire
  • Vital Metals (VML) signs binding term sheet, through its subsidiary Cheetah Resources, with SRC to negotiate building and operating a rare earth extraction plant in Saskatoon, Canada - The Market Herald

“With its world-leading REE expertise, SRC is already working with industrial partners to develop company-specific REE concentration facilities in Saskatchewan, which is the precursor process to full REE processing. This Facility will allow for an environmentally sustainable, reliable, and strategic supply of REEs to be produced outside of China.”

- Mike Crabtree, SRC President and CEO

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Interested in bidding on work?

SRC Purchasing handles all requests for proposals, estimates and quotations to solicit bids for procurement contracts related to this Facility. Available opportunities will be posted on SaskTenders (Organization Type: Crown Corporation > Saskatchewan Research Council). 

For more information, please contact SRC Purchasing by email or phone at 1-306-933-5400. 

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REE processing at SRC graphic

REE Processing

The conversion of REE ore to individual REE products is done in two main stages. The first is the concentration of ore to mixed REE product. The second is the more complex separation stage that converts the mixed REE product to commercial pure-grade individual rare earth oxides. The Facility will address both stages of REE processing. 

  • Canada has some of the largest known reserves (measured) and resources (indicated) of REEs in the world, estimated at over 14 million tonnes of rare earth oxides (2021).

  • REEs are used in a variety of industrial applications, including electronics, clean energy, aerospace, automotive and defence.

Contact us

Questions? Get in touch with our team.

Our Rare Earth Experts
src muhammad imran

Dr. Muhammad Imran is the Vice-President of SRC's REE Division. He started as a research engineer in the EOR Field Development Business Unit and then was assigned the responsibilities of Business Unit Manager in 2013. He then became the Director of Operations EOR Processes and Field Development. He has a PhD in Chemical Engineering. His career highlights at SRC include many research projects, such as innovative proofs of concept, development and optimization of medium and heavy oil EOR processes, lab-scale equipment design, and physical and mathematical modelling.

src jack zhang

Dr. Jack Zhang is an Associate Vice-President, Strategic Technologies in SRC's Mining and Energy Division. He has over 20 years of extensive industrial, engineering, operation and research experience. His major areas of focus include the processing of rare earth, uranium, potash and phosphate, rare metals, lithium, industrial minerals, as well as tailings/mine water/effluent treatment. At SRC, he has led and supervised numerous mineral processing, metallurgical testing, optimization and R&D projects for global clients. 

src baodong zhao

Dr. Baodong Zhao manages SRC's Mineral Processing team. He has more than 25 years of experience in metallurgical engineering and project management, particularly in rare earth mineral processing and hydrometallurgy. Baodong has led and participated in laboratory and pilot plant test work, as well as Preliminary Economic Assessments covering sample preparation, mineralogical characterization, beneficiation, hydrometallurgy and REE separation.

src erin herman

Erin Herman is the Associate Vice-President of SRC's Rare Earth Element Division. In this role, Erin is leading the group to support industry partners and all SRC Divisions with innovative applied engineering, research, design, construction and maintenance projects. Erin is also supervising a team of engineers and scientists to navigate the design, construction and commissioning of the Rare Earth Processing Facility. In addition, Erin is responsible for building the Facility operations team and delivering on the execution of the next planned phases of the project.

src petro nakutnyy

Petro Nakutnyy is the Director of Research and Development for SRC's Rare Earth Element Division. He is a Professional Engineer and has over 15 years of experience testing innovative processes and developing solutions for the energy and mining industries. His major areas of expertise include design and operation of large-scale laboratory models, enhanced oil recovery and artificial intelligence. Petro and his team at SRC are currently working on REE processing optimization and automation.

src hamid salmasi

Dr. Hamid Salmasi is an Engineering Manager in SRC’s Rare Earth Element Division. In addition to daily management tasks, Hamid has been working as the technical lead of SRC’s REE engineering team to ensure project requirements are met in a timely and professional manner, while complying with environmental, health and safety regulations and standards.

src anton farber

Anton Farber is a Project Lead with SRC's Development Engineering and Manufacturing Business Unit in the Rare Earth Element Division. Anton has expertise in mechanical design, Finite Element Analysis, data collection and analysis, and project management. Recently, Anton has been involved in the front-end engineering and project management of SRC's Rare Earth Processing Facility.

Additional Resources

Rare Earth Processing Facility Brochure - View

Rare Earth Processing Facility FAQs - View

SRC Rare Earth Services - Learn more

Strategic metals on horizon as SRC looks for next 'big idea' - Read more

Saskatchewan - The Next Big Producer of Rare Earth Elements? - Read more

SRC Rare Earth Separation Pilot Plant Part of Appia Energy Proposal - Read more

Can innovation in rare earths solve processing challenges? - Read more