Making Moves Up North: Saskatchewan Research Council (SRC),

Highlights

• SRC leads rare earth processing with a fully integrated midstream facility that focuses on execution over industry hype.
• REalloys and SRC signed an MOU to produce high-performance rare earth magnet materials for critical infrastructure sectors.
• The partnership aims to create a vertically integrated rare earth supply chain sourcing inputs from Saskatchewan’s Hoidas Lake project.

Mike Crabtree (opens in a new tab), President and CEO of the Saskatchewan Research Council (opens in a new tab) (SRC) last month online emphasized that while many governments and companies are making grand announcements about rare earth element (REE) supply chains, few are delivering tangible results. He positions SRC as a rare exception—highlighting their commercial-scale, fully integrated midstream rare earth processing facility as a credible, science-driven solution to the West’s REE bottleneck.

According to the head, the facility handles monazite cracking, solvent extraction, heavy and light REE separation, and rare earth magnet recycling. Crabtree criticizes industry "hype" and "headline-chasing" and asserts that SRC is bridging the midstream gap with proven capabilities and proprietary technology developed over years of R&D. His message is one of delivery over rhetoric, urging a focus on execution rather than empty promises.

Deal Inked

Last month SRC reported that REalloys Inc (opens in a new tab)., the merger target of Blackboxstocks Inc. (NASDAQ: BLBX), inked a joint Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) with SRC to support the commercial production of high-performance rare earth magnet materials starting in Q2 2025.

This partnership combines REalloys’ midstream capabilities in heavy rare earth elements (dysprosium and terbium) with SRC’s light rare earth processing (neodymium and praseodymium), enabling vertically integrated magnet material production at REalloys’ Euclid, Ohio facility.

The goal is to build a secure, resilient North American supply chain to meet U.S. Protected Market demand—including the defense, energy, robotics, and critical infrastructure sectors. REalloys will source inputs from its Hoidas Lake Rare Earth Elements Project (opens in a new tab) in Saskatchewan, recycled magnets, and other concentrate streams. Both organizations emphasized the strategic importance of this collaboration for North America.

The Organization

SRC is one of Canada’s leading providers of applied research, development and demonstration (RD&D) and technology commercialization. SRC is a market-driven company that sells services and products to companies in Saskatchewan and around the world. SRC's mission is to help the people of Saskatchewan strengthen the economy with quality jobs and a secure environment. According to the group’s LinkedIn profile  “We have the largest commercial diamond laboratory in the world, which De Beers identified as its external lab of choice. -We're remediating 37 abandoned uranium mine sites in Northern Saskatchewan.”