Original news was published on 30 October, 2014

Partner remains a mystery, but world’s biggest source of niobium is no secret

Rare Earth Salts, a minerals technology company has signed a joint development agreement with a major mining company to build a rare earth element processing facility in Nebraska. RES said its new partner was one of the 10 largest mining companies in the world, but declined to specify which one. The partners will build a pilot plant first to show the scalability of RES technology to extract, separate and refine rare earth elements from one of its partner’s deposits, RES said in a statement.

The pilot plant will be located in southeastern Nebraska. Construction will start in the first half of 2015 and be completed within 18 months from groundbreaking. Once the demo plant has been tested, RES and its partner will conduct a feasibility study for a commercial facility. Mining for rare earth minerals in the U.S. has been virtually nonexistent over the past decade. However, several projects are underway, such as Molycorp’s reopening of a rare earth mine in Mountain Pass, Calif., and NioCorp Development’s test drilling in the tiny town of Elk Creek, Neb., where the U.S.Geological Survey estimates “largest global resources of niobium and other rare earth elements.” And yes, Elk Creek is located in the southeastern corner of Nebraska.

Currently, China accounts for 97 percent of all rare earth element production in the world

*NEWS SOURCE