Mitsubishi Materials (MMC) is investing in US rare earth refiner ReElement Technologies as part of a strategic collaboration with ReElement shareholder American Resources to develop supply for manufacturing in the US and friendly countries, including Japan.

In the US, the collaboration will focus on supporting ReElement’s refining operations by pursuing opportunities for feedstock sourcing, tolling and offtake to expand domestic refining capacity.

In Japan, the companies will jointly evaluate opportunities to commercialize rare earth and critical mineral recycling solutions, combining Mitsubishi’s established recycling infrastructure and ReElement’s chromatographic refining platform.

ReElement’s technology enables the efficient processing of a wide range of feedstocks, including recycled materials, mine waste and primary ores, into high-purity critical mineral products.

Conventional solvent-based refining methods are difficult to deploy outside China because of environmental, capital, and operational constraints. ReElement’s platform is designed to be modular, scalable and environmentally responsible, its former parent company American Resources said.

“By combining MMC’s expertise in feedstock sourcing and recycling with ReElement’s refining-first platform, we are advancing a scalable and economically viable solution to the midstream bottleneck,” said Mark Jensen, CEO of ReElement Technologies.

Source: American Resources