Enhancing US rare earth element processing capabilities in Wyoming

Rare earth elements (REE) play a crucial role in today's world, underpinning a wide range of modern technologies and industries. These elements are essential components in renewable energy solutions, electric vehicles and advanced defence systems, as well as everyday items like smartphones and computer screens.

As global demand for REEs continues to rise, securing a stable supply chain has become a priority for many countries, aiming to reduce dependence on imports and foster domestic production. This growing significance of rare earth elements underscores their vital contribution to technological advancement and economic development.

Wood has secured an operations and maintenance contract with Rare Element Resources (RER) to undertake the day-to-day operations of the RER Demonstration Plant in Upton, Wyoming during commissioning and full operations. The team will oversee routine plant operations including infrastructure and facility repairs, preventative maintenance logging and  back-office support, all to ensure optimized and predictable operations.

The $66+ million processing plant is a full-scale integrated facility for the extraction, separation and refining of REEs. It has received $24.2 million in funding from the United States Department of Energy (DOE). Throughout its operational lifespan, the plant is expected to yield up to 15 tons of high-purity NdPr (Neodymium-praseodymium) oxide, along with other rare earth element products.

Historically, there has only been one REE mine operating in the US, Mountain Pass in California, and much of the REE processing has been done overseas. Projects like the RER Demonstration Plant aim to decrease the United States’ supply chain’s dependence on imports.

RER’S innovative one-of-a-kind process and technology has been designed to take fewer steps than traditional methods and expects to decrease the cost of REE processing to offer a competitive option in expanding US and international markets.

“Wood has a long-standing history in Wyoming to scale and commercialize new technologies. We are looking forward to continuing that tradition by commissioning and operating this innovative project to process rare earth elements domestically.”

Nick Pierson, Wood’s Vice President of Oil & Gas in Operations Americas

There are approximately 20 Wood employees operating the facility, all local residents, furthering Wood’s commitment to regional development and sustainability. Wood employs a skilled workforce, maintains a well-connected supply chain network and adheres to a strong culture of safety.

This latest win in Wyoming follows other significant wins in 2025. In February, Wood announced an operations and maintenance solutions contract award for MTR Carbon Capture at the world’s largest membrane-based carbon capture plant in Gillette, Wyoming. Then, in March, Wood announced the award of a pre-Front End Engineering Design (FEED) contract for a Wyoming project with carbon capture and a first-of-a-kind power generation facility with 8 Rivers and Siemens Energy.