1) The involvement of IXR/VMM in long loop recycling of NdFeB magnets is nice for ESG credentials, good headlines. 2) They've carefully selected high quality recycling feed stock to process and this is not by accident in my view. 3) Sintered NdFeB magnets require great precision all the way through the manufacturing process and input materials; specs are high. 4) The harsh reality is there's no talk here about costs, which frankly is the biggest issue by far with this. I would absolutely hate to think what it cost to produce that oxide from recycled magnets. So unfortunately I'll label this a photo op and science experiment for now, because nobody will buy very expensive oxides with inferior specs that are likely energy inefficient to produce. 5) Notwithstanding, what is likely is that a magnet manufacturer will use a controlled blend of new and recycled materials and this could be a small feedstock to tick ESG boxes, which is smart overall but a veneer nonetheless. As to what percentage would be recycled oxide feedstock and to what degree consistent recycled feedstock can be supplied are both unknowns - how many wind turbines and MRI machines etc are there proximal to say Brazil (where one supposes a recycling plant will be setup)? 6) This doesn't move economics, in fact it's a drag on the project and I would much rather see work done on the IXR JV separation than anything in the recycling area. Recycling is something for sometime into the future. Keep the eye on the prize please.
A personalised tool to help users track selected stocks. Delivering real-time notifications on price updates, announcements, and performance stats on each to help make informed investment decisions.
(20min delay)