08:20 AM EDT, 06/17/2024 (MT Newswires) -- Energy Fuels ( UUUU ) , a U.S. producer of uranium, rare earth elements (REE) and vanadium, on Monday said it has appointed Debra Bennethum as its director of critical minerals and strategic supply chain.

Bennethum previously served as the electric vehicle critical minerals manager in the global purchasing and supply chain division of General Motors.

Bennethum is expected to fill a critical role in Energy Fuels' ( UUUU ) REE sales and marketing enterprises, including cultivating relationships with original equipment manufacturers and other customers; negotiating supply, offtake and other agreements; evaluating REE collaborations; and assisting in evaluating and pursuing government funding and other support.

In addition, Energy Fuels ( UUUU ) has begun drying and packaging separated neodymium-praseodymium (NdPr), which is expected to continue through the end of the quarter. This follows Energy Fuels ( UUUU ) achieving commercial production of "on spec" separated REE at its White Mesa Mill in Utah while advancing uranium production.

The company's new Phase 1 REE separation circuit can produce about 850-1,000 metric tons of separated NdPr per year, making it one of the largest commercial REE separation circuits in the world.

The company expects to produce roughly 25 to 35 metric tonnes of "on spec" separated NdPr in the second quarter before shifting operations to processing inventoried uranium ores and alternate feed materials for the rest of the year.