Correct, and by the way Lab Fab was established as a demonstration and pilot-scale facility, with the goal of producing 100 tonnes per year of permanent magnets initially, and plans to double capacity to 200 tpa, Until recently, Lab Fab was "sitting there doing nothing"—that is, it was largely idle due to a lack of domestic refined rare earth oxide (REO) feedstock, as Brazil had no local supplier able to deliver the high-purity Nd, Pr, Dy, and Tb oxides required for magnet production. The Brazilian government, through the MOVER program, allocated US$13 million of support the development and ramp-up of the Lab Fab facility as part of a broader MagBras initiative focused on building a low-carbon, innovation-driven industrial ecosystem for magnets and rare earths.
In May 2025, Viridion (the IXR/VMM JV) delivered the first locally sourced, high-purity recycled REOs (Nd, Pr, Dy, Tb) to Lab Fab, produced from Brazilian end-of-life magnets using Ionicʼs Belfast-developed technology, This is a major milestone—for the first time, Lab Fab can conduct pilot and demonstration magnet production using Brazilian feedstock, not imported Chinese material,Lab Fab was a government-backed, state-of-the-art facility that remained underutilized for years due to the lack of local REO supply. Times are changing!
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