Technology
Rare Earth Elements
Unlocking the Potential of Canada’s Oil Sands Tailings
Rare earth elements (REEs) are critical to the transition to a low-carbon future. These elements are essential inputs in a wide range of clean technologies, including electric vehicles, wind turbines, solar panels, and advanced electronics. Yet, global production is concentrated in a handful of jurisdictions, making domestic supply a strategic priority.
A Strategic Opportunity
Canada’s oil sands tailings are known to contain concentrations of lanthanides that are vital for sustainable technologies. The potential to extract and refine these materials from an existing industrial tailings stream represents a transformational opportunity to add value, reduce environmental impact, and create a North American critical mineral industry.
Our patented CVW™ suite of technologies is designed to integrate with existing oil sands operations—enabling the potential recovery of valuable minerals without the need for new mining.
Learn More About Our Ability to Recover Globally Significant Quantities of Critical Minerals
Access our comprehensive guide for details of the CVW™ technology’s ability to recover REE and other critical minerals.
CVW™ Sustainable Critical Minerals Production
Oil sands mining operations concentrate valuable critical minerals into froth treatment tailings (FTT). These minerals have been deemed critical to Canada and Alberta due to their importance in the low carbon economy and securing geopolitically stable domestic supply.
Creating Value from Waste™ (CVW™) is a commercially ready (TRL 8) technology to produce critical minerals and recover hydrocarbons through reprocessing FTT. CVW™ can recover globally significant quantities of titanium, zircon, and REE.
Collaborative Research with University of Alberta
In partnership with the University of Alberta’s Department of Chemical and Materials Engineering, the Company is undertaking a research study to assess the technical and economic feasibility of REE recovery from oil sands FTT. This multi-year project is funded by the Natural Sciences and Engineering Research Council of Canada (NSERC). The Company expects initial results from this study in Q1 2026.
Rare Earths that CVW™ Could Potentially Produce
Through an industry-wide deployment, CVW™ can recover up to 51,000 tonnes/year of monazite concentrate, including:
Neodymium
6,300
Tonnes/year
Used within permanent magnets, lasers, ceramic capacitors, and electric motors
Praseodymium
1,900
Tonnes/year
Used within permanent magnets and lasers
Lanthanum
7,000
Tonnes/year
Used for hydrogen storage, battery electrodes, catalysts
Cerium
15,800
Tonnes/year
Used as a component in catalysts, and within emissions control technologies
Global Rare Earth Impact Potential
CVW™ could make Canada a major player in global REE production. Through an industry-wide deployment of CVW™, Canada could potentially:
- Become the 3rd largest producer of REEs
- Fulfill 16% of global demand for REEs