American Rare Earths Ltd. (ASX: ARR) (OTCMKTS: ARRNF) is advancing its Halleck Creek project in Wyoming through a pilot programme aimed at producing pre-production rare earths concentrate.
The company says the project hosts one of the largest known rare earth deposits in the United States. Additionally, it has moved quickly to establish a pilot plant process to validate its extraction approach.
Metallurgical engineer Jaye Pickarts is leading the pilot programme. He brings more than four decades of experience in mine development and mineral processing. Furthermore, he has commissioned multiple rare earth demonstration plants and guided projects from early studies to feasibility stages. The company stated that Pickarts will integrate flowsheet development with practical plant execution. Consequently, his work is expected to reduce technical risks as the project advances.
To support the pilot plant, the company has produced three key pieces of front-end equipment. These include two induced roll magnetic separators and a reflux classifier. Meanwhile, the equipment is being fabricated on an expedited schedule. The remainder of the pilot circuit will rely on standard processing equipment. This approach allows the team to focus on optimising the critical front-end units. Additionally, it helps streamline integration during early-stage operations.
The classifier will handle primary density-based separation within the circuit. It will remove lower-density materials such as feldspar and quartz. Furthermore, it will concentrate higher-density minerals, including rare earth-bearing allanite. The magnetic separators will then provide secondary separation. They will exploit differences in magnetic properties between minerals. Consequently, the process will further upgrade the rare earth concentrate.
Early testwork has shown total rare earth oxide recovery rates of about 70 per cent.
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American Rare Earths has mined 3,100 tonnes from Halleck Creek
The company said these results support the effectiveness of the flowsheet design. They also confirm its suitability as the front-end of the pilot plant.
American Rare Earths holds an exploration permit to mine up to 60,000 tonnes of ore for testing. Meanwhile, it has already mined approximately 3,100 tonnes from Halleck Creek. This material will feed the pilot plant and generate representative concentrates. Additionally, the company plans to use the output to validate metallurgical performance.
The concentrates will also support downstream processing testwork. Furthermore, they will help advance discussions with potential offtake partners. Chief executive Mark Wall said the company is moving quickly to produce pre-production concentrate. He noted that the combination of a large orebody, experienced leadership and proven equipment supports this effort.
Wall added that the permitted bulk sampling programme strengthens the project’s development pathway. Consequently, the company is positioning Halleck Creek to move from resource definition toward production. The pilot work is progressing alongside broader efforts to establish a domestic rare earth supply chain. Meanwhile, the company continues to refine its processing approach as testing advances.
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