Tactical Resources, a US-focused rare earth elements company, is set to spark more investor interest with its recent Nasdaq listing, driving more focus into the rare earths sector as US defense interest mounts, Tactical Resources chief executive officer Ranjeet Sundher told Fastmarkets.
Tactical Resources‘ August 20 Nasdaq listing gives the company access to capital and visibility to investors not previously had, the chief executive said in an exclusive interview on Friday August 28.
“Capital is everything,” Sundher explained to Fastmarkets. “[Everything] in the Nasdaq’s platform is going to give us access to that capital [and] access to tell our story.”
Previously, a lack of capital was a hindrance to the US rare earths industry. But with the shift in focus to rare earths, private and government capital is flowing into the sector.
Part of Tactical Resources’ appeal to investors is its US-based asset. Tactical Resources operates in the Sierra Blanca complex in Texas, which “really sets [Tactical Resources] apart” for investors, according to Sundher.
Additionally, Tactical Resources’ usage of the direct-leach process to mine rare earths is more environmentally friendly, making the company more attractive for additional capital support.
Direct-leach technology offers environmental advantages
“Our project is one of the few hard rock rare earth projects in the world which the mineralogy lends itself to move directly to the leaching process,” Sundher said. “[We’re] going to be able to skip out on a lot of the high temperature roasting and cracking before extraction.”
Direct leaching uses chemicals to extract minerals from ores rather than smelting the material.
Direct leaching eliminates the need for Chinese processing. Previously, producers sent rare earth materials to China to be roasted and cracked, but this is not needed for direct leaching.
Focus on heavy rare earths sets company apart
Tactical Resources is focused on producing heavy rare earths, such as dysprosium, terbium and yttrium, which keep magnets cool when temperatures rise. Most producers in the US are focused on light rare earths, according to Sundher, making Tactical Resources more attractive to investors.
Tactical Resources plans to have its rare earths used in magnets manufactured in the US in the next 12 months, Sundher said.
“We have to show that we can do it at a very quick pace. That means processing, separating and getting our products into the ingredients necessary for a magnet,” Sundher said. “We believe in the next 12 months we’re going to show that progress.”
Building a domestic rare earth supply chain
Domestic mine-to-magnet supply chains are vital for the US in the wake of Chinese dominance in the rare earth space, Sundher explained.
“The US could not compete from a costly point of view, it was just easier to buy everything from China, bring it over,” he said. Even if rare earths were purchased in the US, it was still cheaper to process them in China, Sundher added.
But with access to Chinese rare earths increasingly difficult for US defense buyers, “It’s critical for the US to have their own domestic supply,” Sundher said.
Beforehand, a domestic rare earths industry was too costly, but “now the funding is there,” Sundher explained. “The government support is there.”
Read the full article at https://www.fastmarkets.com/insights/tactical-resources-nasdaq-listing-to-attract-more-capital-support-for-heavy-rare-earths-ceo/
