MINING JOURNALUK technology companies gain traction in race to...

MINING JOURNAL

UK technology companies gain traction in race to net zero.

Mining has never been the backbone of the UK economy, but it contributed greatly to the development of societies
in the UK. The tin and copper mines in Cornwall created a trading hub in the early 19th century and the world-class
slate production in Wales has not been able to be replicated anywhere else in the world.
There are also arsenic, iron, kaolin, bentonite and baryte deposits dotted around the isles; not to mention small gold
and diamond deposits.

However, the latest headlines have been written about lithium, as the UK transitions away from fossil fuels and looks
towards a critical minerals strategy to fuel the energy transition.
But lithium prices are low. So are graphite and rare earths prices. Companies listed on AIM or the London Stock
Exchange have seen interest ebb away, and equities are at a low. Liquidity in these stocks is minimal.
There is, however, one pocket of activity gaining attention and traction: technology companies that promise to
contribute meaningfully to the energy transition through what can be termed as ‘urban mining'.

DEScycle funding
One of these is DEScycle, which at Mining Indaba this year said that the UK "didn't cut it" for technology scale-ups.
This week, the company, which describes itself as a deep technology company developing what it calls Deep Eutectic
Solvents (DES), which replace the smelting process, released a statement saying it will scale up its plans in the UK
following the successful £10.2 million raise from UK and German investors.
The investment was led by BGF, one of the largest and most experienced growth capital investors in the UK and
Ireland, with Berlin-based Vorwerk Ventures as co-lead.

"DEScycle is poised to make a significant impact on metals recovery and sustainable e-waste management. We look
forward to supporting DEScycle's mission to replace outdated pollutive technologies, delivering significant cost
savings, increased performance, environmental impact and transparency in the critical e-waste recycling sector,"
Rowan Bird, investor at BGF, said.
Other investors include Cisco Investments, Kadmos Capital, and Nesta. Follow-on investment was received from
existing shareholders, including TSP Ventures, Green Angel Ventures, and CPI Enterprises.
DEScycle reiterated that "it is a keen supporter of the UK as an innovation and technology hub," highlighting that funds
raised will be used to construct and operate a pre-commercial pilot plant at Wilton International in Teesside, UK.
The company said the plant will be instrumental in demonstrating DEScycle's DES-based technology in a real-world
environment and providing the data for commercial scale-up.
Mining Journal

Future plans include opening an e-waste recycling facility in Gateshead, UK, with support from DEScycle's joint venture
partner, GAP Group, one of the UK's largest e-waste recyclers.
The commercial-scale plant will be able to recycle 5,000t of e-waste per year, producing critical raw materials,
including copper and palladium, and precious metals such as gold for industrial use.
"As a home-grown UK company, it is strategic to build both our pilot and commercial plants here. The UK is one of the
world's hubs for innovative technology, and we are proud to continue this legacy," the company's chief technology
officer said.

Belfast and rare earths
Belfast has also been growing in its capabilities as a technology hub, cemented yesterday with Ionic Rare Earths
announcing the completion of its feasibility study, which, it said, "demonstrate the strong potential for a profitable
and unique commercial Rare Earth Oxide (REO) manufacturing facility in Belfast, UK."
Ionic Rare Earths' subsidiary, Ionic Technologies, "is a first mover in the development of a sustainable, traceable and
domestic UK/Europe supply chain, meeting the demands of the energy transition, advanced manufacturing and
defence", according to the company.
"This puts the UK and Europe at the epicentre of rare earth element recycling by launching the first continuous lifecycle of rare earths supply," the company adds.
Ionic Technologies is currently progressing with site permitting. Construction is planned to be completed in late 2026,
and domestic magnet REO will be delivered for Western customers in early 2027.
This is expected to create 70 jobs in Belfast, including a technical centre where the company intends to continue
innovation on REE separation and magnet recycling that can be driven out through potential JVs globally.
It also has launched two new PhD programs underway at Queens University Belfast.
Funding
In terms of funding, the FS will support the application for additional UK Government funding via the Automotive
Transformation Fund (ATF), administered by the Advanced Propulsion Centre (APC), for automotive manufacturing
and supply chains.
The APC is dedicated to supporting the UK's global leadership position in scientific research, automotive engineering
and net zero.
Ionic said it is also exploring additional government-backed financing, which targets projects that have the potential
to facilitate the UK's energy transition, drive regional growth, and support investment in Northern Ireland.
"This combination has the potential to significantly reduce the equity component required to finance the commercial
facility," it added.
Feasibility study
The FS outlines that the company expects an NPV (post-tax) of US$502 million and an IRR (post-tax) of 43.6%. Net
revenue is placed at $2.12 billion, and EBITDA is $1.78 billion.
Capital payback is estimated at 2.4 years, based on a throughput of 1,200tpa of feed with a production capacity of
400tpa of separated magnet rare earth oxides (REO) over a 20-year life of operation.

Ionic Technologies, like DEScycle, has already benefitted from UK government support via grant funding. Up to £5
million of funding and commitments have been received to date, including two recent grants with a combined value
of £1.27 million and direct funding totalling £470,000 to foster REE supply chain partnerships.
"Even at today's REO spot prices, this study indicates a viable, positive NPV business due to our unique, low-cost,
patented recycling process for separating magnet rare earths without requiring mining," chief executive Tim Harrison
said.
"Now that we have successfully delivered on this UK-Government supported study, we anticipate significant strategic
and investor interest owing to the potential for the development to underpin UK and European net-zero ambitions,
create supply certainty, reduce exposure to cost fluctuations and promote regional growth within the UK," he added.
Shares in ionic lifted 11% on the back of the news.
Altilium
But this isn't a two-horse race - far from it. Not as far along on the journey, but certainly part of the conversation, is
Altilium.
Altilium is a UK-based battery recycling company based in Devon. This week, it said that its materials have shown
comparable rate and cycle performance with commercially available recycled cathode active materials (CAM) used in
high-nickel NMC 811 batteries.
"The cycle cell capacity of Altilium's recycled CAM reached 193 mAh.g⁻¹ in testing, aligning closely with the 190-194
mAh.g⁻¹ range typical for commercial CAM, showing its equivalency," it reported in a release this week.
It also added that X-ray diffraction (XRD) analysis confirmed the structure of Altilium's CAM remains indistinguishable
from commercial variants.
"These results highlight the capability of Altilium's recycled CAM to deliver both quality and sustainability to the EV
battery market," it said.
This CAM was produced as part of a collaborative research project backed by the aforementioned Advanced
Propulsion Centre.
"Our recycled CAM not only matches but can even exceed the performance of traditional materials. We have shown
there is no need to compromise on performance, with the additional sustainability benefits of using recycled
materials," Christian Marston, Altilium co-founder and COO, said.
Crucially, almost all the world's CAM is produced in Asia with no manufacturing in the UK.
Altium highlighted in a release to the market that building domestic capacity for the production of these battery
materials will be critical for the future of the UK's automotive sector as it transitions to EVs. It added that it intends to
scale up its production in a recycling facility in Plymouth.
Moreover, Altilium is now supplying recycled CAM to the UK Battery Industrialisation Centre (UKBIC) to produce
battery cells using its recycled CAM, for validation with a leading automotive OEM, it said.
Watercycle makes waves
Watercycle Technologies Ltd, a climate tech spinout from the University of Manchester specialising in the
development of sustainable mineral recovery systems, has produced over 100kg of battery-grade lithium carbonate
from UK-sourced brines.
5
Watercycle Technologies Ltd, a climate tech spinout from the University of Manchester specialising in the
development of sustainable mineral recovery systems, has produced over 100kg of battery-grade lithium carbonate
from UK-sourced brines. | Credits: Watercycle Technologies
Elsewhere, a water treatment technology company, Watercycle Technologies, has produced over 100kg of batterygrade lithium carbonate from UK-sourced brines.
The company extracted over 100kg of lithium carbonate from UK brines with more than 99.5% purity using proprietary
Direct Lithium Extraction and Crystallisation (DLEC) technology at its pilot plant in Runcorn, UK.
The brines were sourced from Cornish Lithium, but Seb Leaper, co-founder, was keen to stress that it can work on any
brine or any water.
"What I came to realise as I was progressing through my PhD was that the problem with water treatment technology
is it kind of too focused on water, which sounds a bit strange, but it's difficult to get an economic argument for treating
water in many cases," Leaper told Mining Journal.
"And as a result of that, about 80% of industrial wastewater that's produced globally is just returned into the
environment directly, without being treated. But if you look at what's in the water, there's actually a lot of chemistry,
there's a lot of valuable minerals," he added.
It has used its technology on brines in both Chile and Bolivia.
Indeed, Watercycle has been selected from 30 international contenders to showcase its DLEC technology by Chile's
state-owned mining body, ENAMI.
This selection comes following a Request for Information issued by the state-owned company for innovative
technology that can meet the economic, social and environmental requirements for the sustainable development of
Chile's extensive lithium reserves.
This will enable ENAMI to assess the technical and economic feasibility of Watercycle's technology for lithium
exploration in the northeastern Atacama Region.
The distinction between Watercycle's model and its peers is that it crystallises the end result, meaning that the carbon
footprint of the end product is that much lower, as processed brines don't need to be then sent to refineries.
The company is planning to scale up to multi-tonne production in the next six months, Leaper told Mining Journal.
Watercycle is one of the first systems in Europe capable of producing significant quantities of high-purity lithium
carbonate crystals onsite and it is the first in the UK.