Ucore Separates Rare Earth Elements at High Purity With MRT Technology

Ucore Rare Metals (TSXV:UCU) reported successfully using IBC Advanced Technologies’ proprietary Molecular Recognition Technology (MRT) to separate each individual rare earth element at high purity. The process consistently separated rare earths to produce rare earth salts at 99 percent purity from a pregnant leach solution (PLS).

As quoted in the press release:

Greater than 99% of the REE’s, as a group, were recovered from the PLS. REE-selective proprietary SuperLig® resin products were used to separate the REE’s into a light plus yttrium (La, Pr, Nd + Y) group (“LREE + Y”); and a heavy + samarium (Sm-Lu) group (“HREE + Sm”) and to make individual selective separations of the REE’s in each group, as well as make earlier individual separations of Sc and Ce.

Elution of the bound REE’s, as groups or individuals, from the SuperLig® columns was accomplished by small amounts of eluent (acid). This technique produces concentrated solutions of the pure metal(s) for easy and economical salt production that is compatible with the Ucore flow sheet. Lower production costs are obtained by making rare earth carbonates (“REC’s”), which require minimal reagents and no heating. If desired, REC’s can easily be converted to rare earth oxides (“REO’s”) by heating. Full load, wash and elution cycles were performed.

IBC’s proprietary MRT processes provide commercially proven economic green chemistry approaches to selective metal separations in a variety of applications in the metals business. These processes have low energy requirements and meet or exceed increasingly stringent global environmental standards.

Ucore president and CEO, Jim McKenzie, said:

This is an impressive accomplishment, and one that Ucore has been pursuing for several years. The separation of high purity REE’s, without the use of environmentally costly and capital intensive solvent extraction methodologies is a much sought after goal in the technology metals sector. MRT offers a means of separating REE’s to high purity in a rapid and cost effective manner, and with an exceptional level of selectivity and precision. Our great thanks to IBC’s President and CEO Steven R. Izatt and principal scientists Drs Reed M. Izatt, Ronald L. Bruening and Krzysztof E. Krakowiak for their commitment to this goal. An additional special word of thanks to Nobel Laureate Dr. Jean- Marie Lehn of the University of Strasbourg for his pioneering work in molecular recognition and his encouragement to Ucore and IBC through this important initiative.

Click here to read the Ucore Rare Metals (TSXV:UCU) press release