Canadian rare earths company Mkango Resources has opened Britain’s first commercial facility in a quarter of a century to produce permanent magnets, marking a milestone in efforts to reduce Western dependence on China for critical minerals.
The new plant, located in Birmingham and operated by Mkango’s subsidiary HyProMag, produces permanent magnets from recycled materials rather than newly mined ore. It uses a hydrogen-based recycling technology developed at the University of Birmingham, which enables rare earth magnets to be recovered from end-of-life products and converted into new magnetic material with significantly lower emissions than traditional mining and refining processes.
The launch comes as Western governments seek to loosen China’s dominance in the rare earths supply chain. China currently accounts for around 70% of global rare earth mining and about 90% of refining, making alternative supply sources difficult to scale up quickly. Recycling has therefore emerged as one of the fastest ways to expand access to rare earth materials in the near term.
Speaking to Reuters at the opening, UK Industry Minister Chris McDonald said breaking China’s grip on the supply chain was a strategic priority. The Birmingham plant supports Britain’s critical minerals strategy, which targets meeting 10% of domestic demand through local mining and 20% through recycling by 2035, supported by up to £50 million in government funding.
The facility has an annual production capacity of 100 to 300 tonnes of permanent magnets, depending on shift patterns. According to Mkango, the plant is already attracting strong interest from automotive manufacturers. The company is also progressing plans to replicate the technology in the United States and Germany, expanding the recycling-based supply of rare earth magnets beyond the UK.
Britain previously had magnet manufacturing capacity, but this disappeared roughly 25 years ago as production shifted overseas. The opening of the HyProMag plant represents a step toward rebuilding domestic capability in a sector seen as vital for electric vehicles, wind turbines and other clean energy technologies.
