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USA Rare Earth said on Tuesday it has successfully produced a sample of dysprosium oxide (Dy₂O₃) with a purity of 99.1%. The company said this marks a breakthrough in domestic rare earth production.
The dysprosium oxide sample was produced using ore from the Round Top deposit in Texas. The ore was processed through USA Rare Earth’s proprietary extraction and purification technology, developed at its Wheat Ridge, Colorado research facility.
Verified by a third-party ISO 17025 certified lab, this sample demonstrates USA Rare Earth’s ability to extract and process high-purity rare earth oxides from its Texas Round Top deposit, the company said.
The only active rare earths mine in the US is Mountain Pass in California owned by MP Materials, which produces rare earths concentrate as well as separated and refined rare earths, including praseodymium-neodymium (NdPr) oxide, cerium and lanthanum.
The production of dysprosium oxide is significant due to its critical role in advanced technologies that rely on the unique properties of heavy rare earth elements, USA Rare Earth said. Dysprosium is a key component in technologies such as semiconductors, as well as in many neodymium (NdFeB) rare earth magnets.
NdFeB magnets are essential for high-efficiency electric vehicle motors, wind turbine generators, and advanced defense systems, including missile guidance and control systems, among other technologies.
The $14 billion-a-year rare earth magnet market is more than 60% controlled by China.
This month, USA Rare Earth produced the first batch of sintered permanent rare earth magnets at its new plant under development in Stillwater, Oklahoma.
“In addition to dysprosium oxide, our team has now produced a variety of rare earth elements, including terbium and the light rare earth element neodymium, among others,” CEO Joshua Ballard said in a news release.
“We’re excited about the progress we’ve made in bringing this processing capability back home to the United States,” he added.
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