Ucore Produces 99.9% Dysprosium Oxide Sample Material for Japanese, South Korean, and US Customer Qualifications
Ucore delivers 99.9% Dy2O3 qualification samples to Asian and US magnet makers, advancing heavy-REE offtake for its project.
Ucore Rare Metals Inc. announced on July 7, 2026, that it had produced commercial-grade 99.9% dysprosium oxide at its Kingston CDF. The material was processed using approximately 2 tonnes of mixed rare earth oxide from a Western ionic clay, routed through the 52-stage RapidSX™ demo plant and a complementary solvent extraction polishing circuit. Samples are now being shipped to major rare-earth permanent magnet and electronics manufacturers in Japan, South Korea, and the US for technical evaluation, with the goal of advancing toward definitive supply and offtake agreements for the planned Louisiana Strategic Metals Complex.
Ucore Rare Metals Inc. (UCU) released information on July 7 regarding the production of high-purity heavy rare earth oxide, a development that confirms the company’s ability to produce the material in quantities suitable for customer qualification. This announcement mirrors the June 22, 2026, release concerning NdPr oxide samples and follows the company’s prior demonstration of heavy rare earth separation, including dysprosium, at the CDF as early as December 2025 and earlier in 2026.
The latest update involves the shipment of test material; however, no offtake or binding agreements were signed. In the context of previous milestones, including the completion of Phase 1, the Sumitomo strategic framework, and multiple memoranda of understanding, this operational step does not alter the company’s fundamental position or introduce new market-moving information.
Ucore Rare Metals Inc. is a development-stage company focused on creating a North American rare earth element supply chain. Its flagship asset is the Louisiana Strategic Metals Complex (SMC) in Alexandria, Louisiana, a planned Rare Earth Oxide production facility using the company’s proprietary RapidSX™ separation technology. Initial construction targets a single RapidSX™ Machine A and Production Line 1 capable of approximately 600 tonnes per annum (tpa), scaling to approximately 3,000 tpa of total rare earth oxides (TREO). The total combined capital expenditure is US$135 million as of May 2026. First production is now guided for 2027, following earlier expectations of the second half of 2026.
The company also operates a Commercialisation and Demonstration Facility (CDF) in Kingston, Ontario, which has run over 5,700 hours of processing and supports technology transfer. A longer-term asset is the Bokan-Dotson Ridge heavy rare earth element project in Alaska, which is 100% controlled, with updated Measured and Indicated resources reported in April 2026.
The strategic thesis rests on Western governments’ desire to decouple from China’s dominance in rare earth processing. Ucore has secured US$22.4 million in total funding from the US Department of War and a conditional C$36.3 million commitment from the Government of Canada for a samarium-gadolinium facility.