SALT LAKE CITY – US Critical Materials Corp. and Idaho National Laboratory (INL) are taking action to secure America’s access to critical minerals and rare earth elements — resources used for the nation’s defense, energy independence, and technological leadership.

Rare earths are used for advanced military systems, including fighter jets, missile guidance systems, radar, and electronic warfare capabilities.

US Critical Materials and INL have entered into a Phase II Cooperative Research and Development Agreement (CRADA) to establish a pilot-scale processing plant capable of producing rare earths domestically. The facility will process high-grade ore from the Sheep Creek deposit in Montana, which holds critical minerals and rare earths—including neodymium, praseodymium, niobium, strontium, samarium, scandium, and heavy rare earths such as gadolinium, terbium, dysprosium, and yttrium. Sheep Creek also contains high grade gallium, which will be one of the first minerals to be processed.

INL serves as the U.S. Department of Energy’s primary Separation Sciences R&D Testbed. INL scientists will contribute technical expertise to ensure the pilot plant integrates cutting-edge, environmentally responsible refining processes that can scale to full production.