Energy Fuels, a US energy fuel company, announced on July 17 that it had commenced pilot-scale production of heavy rare earth elements (HREEs) at its White Mesa facility in Utah, laying the foundation for commercial production as early as 2026. The ongoing pilot production of HREEs initially yields dysprosium oxide, with production planned to continue until the end of September, aiming to produce 15 kg of dysprosium by that time. The company expects to produce pilot-scale terbium by the end of November and will initiate pilot production of samarium oxide at the facility in January 2026. Commercial production of light rare earth elements (LREEs) neodymium and praseodymium at the facility commenced in June 2024.

It is anticipated that the company will utilize existing raw materials and plans to use raw materials from the Donald joint venture project in Australia as early as 2027. The company also owns two other heavy mineral and rare earth projects: the Toliara project in Madagascar and the Bahia project in Brazil, which may commence production as early as 2028 and 2029, respectively.