MINEX Forum

Tag: rare earth recycling

  • Ionic Rare Earths Completes Western World’s First End-to-End Recycled Rare Earth Supply Chain for EV Motor Magnets

    Ionic Rare Earths Completes Western World’s First End-to-End Recycled Rare Earth Supply Chain for EV Motor Magnets

    Ionic Rare Earths has demonstrated what it describes as the Western world’s first complete end-to-end recycled rare earth supply chain for electric vehicle motor magnets, successfully converting Belfast-recycled rare earth oxides into high-specification magnets that passed durability testing at Ford’s UK research and development facility.

    The project, led by the Australian company and supported by the UK government’s CLIMATES initiative, brought together Less Common Metals, GKN and Ford UK in a collaboration designed to test whether recycled rare earth material could meet the exacting quality standards required for EV motor production. The process ran from Ionic’s recycling operations in Belfast — where neodymium, dysprosium and terbium oxides are produced at purities above 99.5% from end-of-life magnets and secondary magnet supply chain materials — through to alloy production by LCM, magnet manufacturing by GKN to Ford’s specifications, and final rotor testing at Ford’s Dunton facility. The recycled material rotor passed the full durability test cycle with results equivalent to rotors produced using conventional production magnets.

    Ionic managing director Tim Harrison described the achievement as the culmination of a landmark technology development. “Ionic Technologies was the first producer of recycled, individually separated magnet REOs in the Western world, and this now proves that its long-loop recycling technology can supply Western supply chains for the most demanding applications,” he said.

    The company received UK government backing in late 2023 to build a commercial rare earth magnet recycling facility in Belfast, which will feed materials to LCM for alloy production, with the resulting magnets intended for Ford’s UK electric vehicle manufacturing operations.

    The demonstration carries policy significance at a moment when the UK is seeking to reduce dependence on imported critical minerals. Under the Critical Minerals Strategy announced in November 2025, the country is targeting domestic production of 10% of its mineral needs and recycling supply of 20% by 2035 — compared with current domestic production accounting for just 6% of critical minerals requirements. The CLIMATES initiative supported 36 circular rare earth projects, with the Ionic-led automotive supply chain designated a flagship.

  • Mkango Resources Opens Rare Earth Magnet Recycling Plant in Germany as Europe Pushes to Build Domestic Supply Chain

    Mkango Resources Opens Rare Earth Magnet Recycling Plant in Germany as Europe Pushes to Build Domestic Supply Chain

    Mkango Resources has officially opened a rare earth magnet recycling facility in Pforzheim, Germany, operated by its subsidiary HyProMag GmbH, marking a concrete step toward building European domestic capacity in a supply chain currently dominated by China.

    The plant uses Hydrogen Processing of Magnet Scrap technology — developed at the University of Birmingham — to recycle neodymium-iron-boron magnets, the permanent magnets used in electric vehicle motors and wind turbines. The facility carries backing from the German Federal Ministry for Economic Affairs and Energy and featured in the recently signed UK-Germany agreement on critical raw materials, underlining its relevance to both national industrial policy and broader allied supply chain strategy.

    Initial capacity stands at 100 tonnes per year, with a medium-term target of 350 tonnes and a fully permitted ceiling of 750 tonnes annually. The phased ramp-up allows Mkango to grow output without requiring heavy upfront capital deployment, while commissioning is already underway with early processing runs of the core unit completed.

    The plant’s strategic significance exceeds its current output. Europe has been working to reduce dependence on imported rare earths — particularly from China, which dominates both primary production and processing — and magnet recycling offers a lower-carbon and lower-cost alternative to primary mining as a route to domestic supply. Neodymium-iron-boron magnets are among the most critical materials in the energy transition, and recovering them from end-of-life products addresses both supply security and circular economy objectives simultaneously.