Ionic Rare Earths Ltd (ASX:IXR, OTC:IXRRF) has enjoyed multiple new endorsements from the UK Government, having been awarded two more grants totalling a combined value of A$2.46 million and selected to lead the ‘MAGNOSTIC’ collaboration to deliver advanced, demagnetisation solutions for end-of-life permanent magnets.
The company’s subsidiary Ionic Technologies also secured funding for the £843,000 ‘REEValuate’ Project, by partnering with metals and alloys manufacturer, Less Common Metals (LCM), and magnet manufacturer, Vacuumschmelze (VAC), to produce 100% recycled rare earth alloys for permanent magnets.
Vote of confidence from UK government
“Once again, the UK Government has recognised the role that Ionic Technologies’ patented, leading edge magnet recycling technology has not only in establishing critical minerals supply chains in the UK, but also directly into Western markets,” Ionic Rare Earths managing director Tim Harrison said.
“By supporting this progressive collaboration between UK and EU-based rare earth supply chain businesses, the UK Government is facilitating supply chain partners to establish strategically significant collaborations, underpinned with demonstrator projects.”
Harrison says demand for secondary REOs through recycling is accelerating to align with global policy priorities and sustainability objectives, driven by the European Union Critical Raw Materials Act and the US Inflation Reduction Act.
“IonicRE aims to progress the technology with the deployment of modular recycling initiatives in Western markets looking to develop domestic, secure, and sustainable supply chains to address strategic supply and sovereign security, placing IonicRE at the epicentre of near term, deployable rare earth recycling,” Harrison explained.
Establishing a circular economy
The company’s new funding injection – which includes a direct funding component totalling about A$900,000 – is intended to foster rare earth element (REE) supply chain partnerships under the next round of the Innovate UK ‘CLIMATES’ program.
Having been selected as a leader for the ‘MAGNOSTIC’ collaboration, IXR will also work in partnership with the Materials Processing Institute (MPI) and Swansea University to deliver advanced demagnetisation solutions for end-of-life permanent magnets.
“The MAGNOSTIC Project brings us a significant step closer to making commercial scale magnet recycling a reality,” Harrison explained.
“It is expected to provide efficient solutions to demagnetise magnets, prior to processing them through Ionic Technologies’ patented process.
“Solutions that enable rapid demagnetisation reduce the implications of handling high specification rare earth permanent magnets (REPMs) and thus reduce costs.”
MAGNOSTIC is valued at £422,000 with IXR to benefit directly from £178,000 in UK Government funding.
“This is an exciting project that will maintain UK leadership in the development of a circular economy for critical raw materials with applications in energy and transport,” Swansea University deputy pro vice chancellor for research culture Professor Ian Mabbet said.
“MPI and Ionic Technologies are both at the cutting-edge of this field and we are keen to apply our complementary scientific expertise in metals technologies to deliver successful outcomes, ultimately paving the way to commercialisation.”
Ionic Technologies’ demonstration scale solvent extraction circuit (left), and Ionic Technologies’ Heavy REE SX circuit (right).
Creating Western supply chains
“Collaborating with key supply chain partners is essential in establishing Western supply chains for magnet manufacturing, utilising both light and heavy rare earths,” Harrison said.
“LCM is the only Western rare earth metal/alloy manufacturer, and it is of significant benefit to Ionic Technologies and LCM to be able to deliver a project as significant as this within the UK.
“Similarly, working with VAC represents an enormous opportunity for all involved to show how Western rare earth supply chain partners can deliver cohesively, meeting the demands of the energy transition, advanced manufacturing, and defence.
Harrison says the commercialisation of IXR’s recycling technology is advancing rapidly, underlining the strategic importance of the Belfast Demonstration Plant.
“Our supply chain partners have expressed significant interest in procuring REOs from secondary sources, and with this announcement, we are excited to deliver a full schedule of magnet recycling through to mid-2025,” he continued.
“We are continuing to produce Light REOs and Heavy REOs in Belfast, constantly optimising the performance of the process for greater efficiencies.”
Alongside the ‘REEValuate’ partnership with LCM and VAC, VAC will also provide pre-consumer neodymium-iron-boron (NdFeB) scrap to Ionic for production of high purity magnet Rare Earth Oxides (REOs) at the Belfast Demonstration Plan.
LCM will then reduce the oxides to rare earth metals/alloys and supply them back to VAC at required specifications for magnet production – IXR expects about 9-tonnes of scrap volume to be processed in this initial effort.
“LCM is proud to be leading this project in partnership with Ionic Rare Earths,” LCM general manager Aaron Riley said.
“By advancing a fully traceable, circular supply chain, we are not only addressing the growing demand for rare earths driven by clean energy technologies, but also exploring an alternative route for sustainability in the industry."
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