Business
Search Minerals and USA Rare Earth Enter Into Technical Collaboration Framework Agreement
VANCOUVER, British Columbia, Nov. 10, 2020 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Search Minerals Inc. (TSXV: SMY) (“Search” or the “Company”) and USA Rare Earth, LLC (“USA Rare E
About this update from Search Minerals Inc.
[{"type":"text","content":" VANCOUVER, British Columbia, Nov. 10, 2020 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Search Minerals Inc. (TSXV: SMY) (“Search” or the “Company”) and USA Rare Earth, LLC (“USA Rare Earth”) are pleased to announce that they have entered into a Technical Collaboration Framework Agreement (“Collaboration Agreement”) to govern initial cooperation between USA Rare Earth and Search in a number of important areas of mutual interest. Search holds patented Direct Extraction Process technology and owns 100% of a Critical Rare Earth Element District in SE Labrador, Canada. USA Rare Earth is establishing an integrated mine-to-magnet strategy independent of China, including funding and developing the Round Top Heavy Rare Earth and Critical Minerals Project in West Texas,. In January 2020, the U.S. and Canada announced the U.S. – Canada Joint Action Plan on Critical Minerals Collaboration, intended to advance “mutual interest(s) in securing supply chains for the critical minerals needed for important manufacturing sectors, including communication technology, aerospace and defence, and clean technology.” In June 2020, the Canadian and U.S Governments reaffirmed their commitment to strengthening the North American supply chain for critical minerals – essential to both countries’ national security and economic growth. USA Rare Earth is the development and funding partner of the Round Top Mountain critical minerals and heavy rare earth project in Hudspeth County, West Texas. It also owns sintered rare earth magnet manufacturing equipment previously owned and operated by Hitachi Metals in North Carolina, and earlier this year opened a rare earth and critical minerals facility in Wheat Ridge to commission a pilot plant using Continuous Ion Exchange (CIX) extraction, separation and recovery methods using feedstock from Round Top and other non-Chinese sources. Search’s Critical Materials District (“District”) in southeast Labrador, Canada currently has a Preliminary Economic Assessment (“PEA”) report for the Foxtrot Project along with a mineral resource estimate for the Deep Fox Project. In addition, the 2020 exploration program has been completed, as the Company worked on its Fox Meadow, Silver Fox and Awesome Fox prospects within the District. In addition to the rare earth elements, Search is testing a flowsheet to obtain additional value from the high Zirconium and Ha...