Ionic Rare Earths Ltd (ASX:IXR, OTC:IXRRF) is turning trash into critical minerals treasure after flipping the switch on rare earth oxide production at its Belfast recycling facility in the UK.
The production line will transform magnets from end-of-life wind turbines and electric vehicles into high-purity magnetic rare earth oxides, priming these minerals to re-enter the green energy market.
So far, the demonstration plant has generated 4.2 kilograms of 99.7%-grade neodymium oxide and 0.6 kilograms of 99.8%-grade dysprosium oxide, indicating the production hub can recycle both light and heavy rare earths.
Ionic cut the ribbon just nine months after its Belfast facility won UK Government support, securing it first-mover advantage in the rare earth oxides recycling space.
Europe at epicentre of rare earths recycling
IXR managing director Tim Harrison said the recycling facility was key to the company’s broader mission: to harness its technology and accelerate reath earths mining, refining and recycling amid the green energy transition.
“The commercialisation of our recycling technology and our focus on the delivery of the Makuutu Heavy Rare Earths Project in Uganda positions us to provide a secure, sustainable and traceable supply of magnet REOs,” he explained.
The time is right for new rare earth solutions: analysts are forecasting an imminent deficit that could quintuple the current US$3 billion market by the end of the decade.
Harrison spotlighted growing demand in the European Union, north Asia and the US, noting that new solutions are needed to bridge the gap.
“Ionic is planning to progress the technology with the deployment of modular recycling initiatives in markets looking to develop domestic, secure and sustainable supply chains to address strategic supply and sovereign security, placing Europe at the epicentre of rare earth element recycling.”
How does it work?
Ionic is enacting its rare earths recycling vision through its wholly-owned Ionic Technologies subsidiary, acquired in the first half of 2021.
The group has developed a rare earth element separation and refining technology, leveraging this to give spent permanent neodymium-iron-boron magnets a new lease on life.
In essence, the technology uses a hydrometallurgical process to extract the rare earth elements and separate the ‘big four’ magnet rare earths within – neodymium, praseodymium, dysprosium and terbium.
Finally, the process refines the magnet rare earths to generate high-purity individual magnet rare earths oxides.
It’s important to note that this process is agnostic on magnet quality, can process oxidised magnets and can also manage coatings and films to produce individually separated and refined oxides, making it an adaptable and comprehensive recycling technology.
UK Government chips in
In September 2022, Ionic Technologies was awarded a £1.72 million (roughly A$2.9 million) grant under the UK Government’s Innovate UK Automotive Transformation Fund Scale-up Readiness Validation.
The program was designed to incentivise local rare earth prospects, helping the UK shore up critical minerals to support a domestic EV manufacturing industry.
The demonstration plant will also provide data to develop commercial facilities, meaning there’s potential to one day scale up its recycling capabilities.
Ionic Technologies has plenty of material to go off, with more than 50 tonnes of old neodymium-iron-boron magnets ready for processing.