Ford Technologies, Less Common Metals (LCM) and Ionic Rare Earths signed an agreement to develop a UK supply chain for rare earth products from recycled rare earth permanent magnets, with £1.0M (US$1.25M) of UK government support for the partnership.

LCM is Europe’s only commercial rare earth metal and alloy manufacturer, while Ford will test and analyse magnet performance containing recycled rare earth elements (REE) from Ionic. 

Ionic already has a demonstration plant up and running in Belfast, UK, focused on the recycling of REEs from spent NdFeB magnets and waste (swarf). The UK government is also supporting an additional £1.0M (US$1.25M) grant to fund a feasibility study into the construction of a RE magnet recycling plant in the UK for Ionic in collaboration with the British Geological Survey. In July, Ionic announced initial production from the Belfast plant of over 5 kg of separated rare earth oxides at specification, including neodymium oxide (Nd2O3) and dysprosium oxide (Dy2O3). Over the next 12 months, the company is planning to process 30t of NdFeB magnet feedstock, to produce over 10t of separated magnet REOs. To date over 50t of NdFeB magnets have been secured as feedstock.  

Ionic is also developing the Makuutu rare earth elements (REE) project in Uganda (currently 60%-owned, with Ionic having first right over the other 40%). Makuutu is an ionic adsorption clay deposit - such deposits are typically biased towards ‘heavy’ rare earths including terbium and dysprosium and are comparable compositionally to those in South China and Myanmar. Ionic completed a Stage 1 DFS in March 2023, which outlined open-pit mining over an initial mine life of 35 years, with ROM throughput of 5Mtpy to produce a mixed rare earth carbonate product and scandium. Initial capital costs including a modular heap desorption processing plant are estimated at US$121M.