American Rare Earths (ASX: ARR)—Metallurgy Milestone, Test Mining Done, and a Clear Path to Scale at Halleck Creek - REE and Permanent Magnets in the USA.
- Noel Ong
- 6 days ago
- 7 min read
Announcement
American Rare Earths Limited (ASX: ARR) has ticked off three important boxes at Halleck Creek Project (Figure 1): (1) impurity-removal breakthrough, (2) ~3,080 t test-mined and bulk samples dispatched for comminution, (3) third-party LREO/HREO concentrates validating the ore. The October Investor Presentation then ties the technical gains to the scale and economics of a phased development plan.
Figure 1: Halleck Creek Project, Wyoming, US (source: ARR)
Highlights - REE and Permanent Magnets in the USA.
1.0 Processing breakthrough: impurity removal neutralisation tests (13 Oct 2025)
Minimal gypsum/silica gel formation with MgO during impurity removal—historically a key challenge for allanite ores—points to fewer steps, lower losses, and lower potential capex/opex.
Primary neutralisation (15% MgO, ~75 °C, pH ~3.15): removed ~99.8% Fe, ~99.4% Ti, ~89% Si, ~92.9% Th, with average REE loss ~0.6% (LREE) and ~0.8% (HREE). Secondary neutralisation (pH ~5.0): further removed ~99.4% Fe, ~96.3% Al, ~71% Si, ~98.9% Th, ~95.6% Ti; solids recommended to be recycled to leach to recapture REE.
Optimal neutraliser selected: MgO preferred over MgCO₃/NaOH/Ca-based reagents, which showed co-precipitation or gypsum formation.
Next steps: create mixed rare earth oxalate → calcine to mixed rare earth oxide → re-leach (cerium removed) → prepare for solvent extraction. Work slated for completion before year-end.
2.0 Test mining completed; comminution optimisation underway (23 Sep 2025)
~3,080 t mined and crushed at the CSM test pit; ~13.7 t dispatched to vendors (FLSmidth—HPGR; Loesche—VRM; Corem—alternate HPGR; DISA—high-pressure slurry ablation).
Program targets reducing fines to lift beneficiation efficiency and overall REE recoveries—feeding directly into PFS economics. Remaining ore stockpiled for a demonstration plant.
3.0 First LREO/HREO concentrates from Halleck Creek ore via SynBREE (15 Aug 2025)
Under the DARPA EMBER program, University of Kentucky produced ~96.4% LREO and ~97.1% HREO concentrates from Halleck Creek ore precursors to separated oxides; ~82% TREO recovery from leachate reported in that lab flow-sheet.
Figure 2: LREO & HREO Products from UK SynBREE Test Work (source: ARR)
Demonstrates third-party validation that Halleck Creek ore can yield both light and heavy rare earth oxides.
4) Scale & economics reiterated (Investor Presentation, 20 Oct 2025)
Resource: 2.63 Bt @ 3,292 ppm TREO (JORC resource estimate); ~26% magnet REEs, ~11% HREEs—tilting Halleck Creek toward high-value magnet metals.
Phase-1 CSM (state land) base case 3 Mtpa: NPV10 post-tax ~US$558 m, IRR ~24%, payback ~2.7 yrs; PFS targeted 2026.
Funding signals: Non-binding EXIM Bank LOI up to ~US$456 m; US$7.1 m Wyoming grant support.
Strategic fit: potential to supply a material share of domestic magnet feed (light + heavy REEs) within a 2–3 year state permitting pathway for Phase-1.
Processing risk is falling while front-end settings are being dialled in—exactly how a very large, magnet-metal-weighted resource becomes a buildable, phased project.
Resource Base, Growth Potential & Areas
Cowboy State Mine represents only ~20% of the broader Halleck Creek system.
The current resource is a baseline with a clear scope to grow beyond published estimates.
Bluegrass stands out as a priority target for additional tonnes.
Mineralisation remains open laterally and at depth, indicating further expansion potential (Figure 3).
Figure 3: Halleck Creek Resource Areas—CSM, Red Mountain, Overton, Bluegrass (source: ARR)
Phased Development Plan
Two-stage build: Halleck Creek will be developed in two separate, independent phases: Phase 1 CSM (100% Wyoming state minerals; streamlined permitting) → Phase 2 (federal lands; multi-generation runway).
Why It Matters
Processing risk moves down: The impurity-removal data directly addresses the classic allanite bottleneck (gypsum/silica gel, co-precipitation). Lower REE losses and cleaner leachates translate into higher recoveries and simpler downstream SX, which is where projects often stumble.
Front-end tuning in motion: Real ore bulk samples at multiple comminution vendors should tell ARR how to cut fines and lift beneficiation yields—the lever that compounds through the flow-sheet and the PFS.
Third-party optics: SynBREE’s lab-stage result isn’t in the PFS flow-sheet, but it independently demonstrates oxide production from this ore system—useful validation while ARR advances a conventional route.
Scale + jurisdiction: The combination of deposit scale, phased permitting on state land, and visible public-sector support keeps phase-1 development credible against a tight US mine-to-magnet timeline.
Market Snapshot — 22 Oct 2025
ARR’s share price surged into mid-October, peaking near $0.80 on heavy turnover (several sessions >10–15 M shares), before pulling back to the mid-50c range. The latest point on the chart (31 Oct) marks ~$0.47, indicating a cool-off after the spike but still well above late-September levels (~$0.35–0.40). In short: elevated price, elevated volumes, post-rally consolidation.
Figure 4: ARR’s Share price & volume to 31 Oct 2025 (source: ASX)
What to watch next
Hydromet wrap-up before year-end: mixed REO/oxalate steps and re-leach ahead of SX testwork.
Comminution vendor outcomes (HPGR/VRM/ablation) and follow-on beneficiation optimisation sequence.
Demonstration-plant pathway using stockpiled test-pit ore.
PFS (2026) scope & sensitivities—especially recovery, reagent suite (MgO), operating complexity, and capex intensity vs earlier scoping metrics.
About American Rare Earths
American Rare Earths (ASX: ARR) is advancing the Halleck Creek project in Wyoming via its wholly owned U.S. arm, targeting cost-efficient open-pit mining at the Cowboy State Mine on 100% state land with streamlined permitting and onsite processing/separation. The project aims to cut U.S. import reliance (notably on China) and build a long-life domestic magnet-metal supply, backed by responsible practices and U.S. government-supported R&D.
Samso Concluding Comments
This is simply a REE and Permanent Magnets in the USA story. The key is the Halleck Creek, which appears to be building as a scalable project. The impurity-removal work—especially the MgO neutralisation and tight pH windows—points to cleaner leach solutions with low REE loss, which is exactly where allanite projects often stumble. That’s a genuine de-risking signal for downstream separation.
This is a substance story as ARR has moved real tonnes, and has a market capitalisation of AUD $266M and that should speak volumes. The PFS numbers will be the key, but investors should consider that if ARR makes this business work and is a US business, this would be worth a lot more than AUD $266M. This is worth a lot of DYOR time for investors. ARR is not exploring, nor is it promoting rock chips and concepts.
Strategically, the two-phase pathway makes practical sense. The Company will start on the Wyoming state minerals at the Cowboy State Mine to leverage permitting advantage and then consider federal-land scale as the system matures. Pair that with a resource that’s both large and magnet-metal weighted, and you have a credible long-life narrative.
We’ll want to see the hydromet program close out into mixed REO, the comminution/beneficiation settings lock in, and economics that stand up to price and reagent sensitivities. If those land as indicated, Halleck Creek’s case for a domestic mine-to-magnet contribution strengthens materially.
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