American Rare Earths’ Cowboy State mine to provide feedstock for DoE research

Staff Writer | March 17, 2026 | 12:35 pm Critical Minerals Energy USA Rare Earth

American Rare Earths hits metallurgical milestone at Halleck Creek

The Halleck Creek rare earths project in Wyoming. (Image courtesy of American Rare Earths.)

American Rare Earths (ASX: ARR) has been selected by the US Department of Energy (DOE) to provide feedstock for the Minerals to Materials Supply Chain Research Facility (METALLIC) consortium being led by the National Energy Technology Laboratory to establish new, domestic critical minerals supply chains.

American Rare Earths holds the Halleck Creek project in Wyoming, which was ranked in 2023 as one of the world’s top 10 rare earth projects measured in total rare earth oxides (TREOs). The latest resource estimate for the Cowboy State mine, located within the Halleck Creek project area, shows 547.5 million tonnes in TREOs using a cut-off grade of 1,000 parts per million (ppm).

In December 2025, ARR provided approximately five tonnes of allanite ore from the Cowboy State mine test pit for METALLIC research. The METALLIC consortium combines the research resources of nine national labs to validate, improve and help commercialize technologies developed by domestic entities, amplifying the impact of the DOE and other US government investments.

As one of the key feedstocks for the program, ore from the Cowboy State mine at Halleck Creek provides a rare earth bearing material for use in each of the four METALLIC test centers.

As part of the collaboration, METALLIC researchers will employ AAR’s mineral processing methods and then test novel processing methods. This, AAR said, would see the company benefit from third-party affirmation of its process flowsheets.

Testing of novel processes could also result in the discovery of more efficient and cost-effective methods for capturing and refining magnetic rare earth elements, it added.

“Supporting a Department of Energy program is an exciting step for the company as we focus on advancing the largest US domestic rare earths deposit,” ARR chief executive officer Mark Wall said in a news release.

“American Rare Earths benefits by having leading DOE scientists processing our ore as a part of the drive to domestic rare earth supply chain security within the United States.”