By Charlotte Underwood

LAFOLLETTE, TN (WLAF)- On Thursday evening, Jeffery Willis (TOP PHOTO), CEO of United Rare Earths spoke to the JECDB Board informing them of the company’s closing on the 39 acres in the Collins Industrial Park with the City of Caryville. Paperwork had been signed that morning at Caryville City Hall.

See a related story HERE of last week’s closing.

 Willis said his company is now entering into construction plan and design phase and was working with the National Lab, Department of Energy and other stakeholders to move the project forward.

United Rare Earths had until the end of the year to close on the property, but “chose to accelerate the timeline” in order to advance with permitting processes and surveys ahead of schedule.

During an earlier interview with WLAF, Willis had shared the company might start production 14 months earlier than expected if the recycling technology is a go.

“We will start next week inquiring about the permitting process, those can take several months, but the sooner we start, the better off we are to get underway. Once that is started, we have an opportunity to discuss with an entity about their technology for recycling that would get us to market sooner,” Willis said.

 United Rare Earths was founded by Jeffrey Willis, John Graves and Dr. Bob Wright and is an “energy company in pursuit of clean and sustainable energy.” The company is creating a “rare earths hub” in Campbell County and is in the process of establishing the first phase of the three-phase project. (WLAF NEWS PUBLISHED-11/19/2024-6AM)

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