Morning Trading April 17, page-203

Ionic Rare Earths (ASX:IXR) begins commissioning of magnet recycling demonstration plant



ASX:IXR MCAP $110.4M

Bianca Gimondo Markets Reporter [email protected] 17 April 2023 12:22(AEST)

• Ionic Rare Earths (IXR) kicks off process commissioning for its magnet recycling demonstration plant facility in Belfast, UK
• The company remains on track for the first production of separated and refined high-purity magnet rare earth oxides from the demonstration plant by late June
• IXR says it now holds 40 tonnes of neodymium-iron-boron magnets, derived from wind turbines, electric vehicle (EV) motors and magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) scanners
• The company says its tech has the potential to develop more efficient and non-hazardous, economically viable processing with a minimal environmental footprint

Ionic Rare Earths (IXR) has commenced process commissioning for its magnet recycling demonstration plant facility in Belfast, UK.

The company said it was on track to deliver its first demonstration of separated and refined high-purity magnet rare earth oxides (REO) at its magnet recycling demonstration plant in Belfast, UK.

IXR now holds 40 tonnes of neodymium-iron-boron magnets, derived from wind turbines, electric vehicle (EV) motors and magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) scanners to provide feedstock for its demonstration plant trials.

The company remains on track for the first production of separated and refined high-purity magnet rare earth oxides from the demonstration plant by late June.

“The progress in Belfast has been substantial over the past few months since my last visit in November; with equipment now delivered and installed, and commissioning now underway, we are confident that full commissioning will be completed on time, and I expect to see production of REOs this quarter,” IXR Managing director Tim Harrison said.

“The successful commissioning of the magnet recycling demonstration plant at our Belfast facility will be a key catalyst for the company in being able to establish meaningful supply chain partnerships in value addition for the magnet REOs we will produce in Belfast,” Mr Harrison said.

In September 2022, IXR received a grant totalling £1.72 million (A$2.9 million)
from the UK Government’s Innovate UK Automotive Transformation Fund Scale-up Readiness Validation (SuRV) program to develop the plant.

The company said its technology had the potential to develop more efficient and non-hazardous, economically viable processing with a minimal environmental footprint compared to current practices.

Throughout the quarter, IXR has focused on implementing health and safety systems, including the completion of several safety best practice processes in advance of the

demonstration plant installation, commissioning and operation.

IXR said its technology offered a universal method to extract high-purity rare earth elements from low-quality and variable-grade magnets to be utilised in high-performance magnets for EV and wind turbine production.