Ionic Rare Earths Ltd (ASX:IXR, OTC:IXRRF) has started commissioning a magnet recycling demonstration plant at the Belfast, Northern Ireland, facility of its subsidiary IonicTech.
IonicTech has developed rare earth element separation and refining technology and has applied this to the recycling of spent permanent neodymium-iron-boron (NdFeB) magnets.
The process uses a hydrometallurgical process to extract the rare earths and then separate the individual magnet REEs within – neodymium, praseodymium, dysprosium and terbium – and finally refine to high-purity individual magnet rare earth oxides (REO).
This presents an opportunity for the company to have a 'first mover' advantage in the industrial elemental extraction of REEs from spent magnets and waste, enabling near-term magnet REO production capability to satisfy growing demand from lagging new supply chains
IonicTech has already sourced, globally, in excess of 40 tonnes of NdFeB permanent magnets from wind turbines, electric vehicle (EV) motors, magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) scanners and other applications, plus swarf from alloy and magnet manufacturing, to provide a diverse feedstock range for demonstration plant trials.
Key catalyst
IonicRE managing director Tim Harrison said: “The progress in Belfast has been substantial over the past few months since my last visit in November.
With equipment now delivered and installed, with commissioning now underway, we are confident that full commissioning will be completed on time, and I expect to see production of REOs this quarter.”
“The successful commissioning of the Magnet Recycling Demonstration Plant at our Belfast facility will be a key catalyst for the company in being able to establish meaningful supply chain partnerships in value addition for the magnet REOs we will produce in Belfast.
"Our engagement with metal and alloy manufacturers is progressing and we expect to be able to deliver inventory of separated magnet REOs for further value addition in the third quarter of this year.
“With the momentum the company is seeing for alternative supply of magnet REOs and the recent European Critical Raw Material Act, and the intent to source 15% of these newly named StrategicRaw Materials, we continue to field new enquiries on the technology.
"The potential to rapidly deploy the modular technology is appealing to western markets looking to develop domestic, secure and sustainable supply chains from secondary sources through recycling.”
First mover advantage
IonicTech’s work to date has demonstrated the capability for REEs to achieve near-complete extraction of REOs from lower-quality spent magnets and waste (swarf) to a remarkable recovery of high-value magnet REO product quality exceeding 99.9% REO.
The technology developed by IonicTech provides considerable benefits over alternative magnet recycling technologies presently being marketed and operated, including hydrogen decrepitation, which simply breaks down spent magnets and swarf to be recast as magnets of lesser quality.
The advantage of this technology is to provide a universal method for the recovery of high-purity grade rare earth elements from lower quality and variable grade magnets, to be used in the manufacture of high-performance and high-specification magnets for EV and wind turbine production.