Ucore Rare Earth Metals says it has picked Alexandria in central Louisiana as the site of its first planned $75 million rare earth production facility, Kallanish reports.

The now-larger facility, called the Louisiana Strategic Metals Complex, will be constructed in an 80,800 square-foot brownfield facility with the England Airpark, a former US Air Force base, says the company with headquarters in Halifax, Nova Scotia. The company also announced that the planned production of total rare earth oxides at the facility has been increased from 2,000 tonnes/year in Q1 2025 to 5,000 t/y in 2026 to 7,500 t/y in 2027. Initial production trials would begin in Q4 2024.

The state of Louisiana is now providing $15m in state grants, tax incentives, payroll rebates and other employment recruiting and training. The increased state support includes a $900,000 offer from the Louisiana Economic Development for infrastructure costs related to enlarging the Alexandria plant. The Greater Alexandria Economic Development Authority will provide $360,000 to offset facility costs for the first 24 months. The project is expected to create 100 plant jobs.

Three sites in southwest and central Louisiana had been under consideration for the processing plant. It would initially rely on rare earth feedstock from US-allied nations.

Ucore had previously been planning to build the facility in Ketchikan, Alaska. The company is operating a demonstration-scale pilot plant in Ontario. That plant and the Louisiana plant will rely on the company’s RapidSX technology to separate and purify rare earths. Ucore has been working to develop its own rare earth project on Prince of Wales Island in southeast Alaska.