Mkango completes first production run of recycled rare earth magnets

Mkango Resources announced on Tuesday that it has completed its first production runs of recycled rare earth magnets, marking a pivotal moment in securing essential raw materials.

The AIM-traded firm said the development was the first in the UK on commercial-scale magnet manufacturing equipment in over two decades.

It said the first production runs of short-loop recycled rare earth magnets took place at the Tyseley Energy Park rare earth hub in Birmingham, with commercial production set to start in mid-2024.

The company said the successful scale-up at Tyseley had its roots at the University of Birmingham, where more than 3,000 finished rare earth magnets were produced during piloting.

It added that the 'Hydrogen Processing of Magnet Scrap' (HPMS) technology commercialised by HyProMag was at the heart of the achievement.

The production of recycled rare earth magnets at Tyseley is a collaborative effort between the University of Birmingham and HyProMag, a subsidiary of Mkango's Maginito operation.

Additional production runs were planned to provide samples to customers and project partners shortly.

Commercial production at Tyseley was on track for the middle of next year, with an initial throughput target of 20 tonnes of rare earth magnets and alloys per annum.

Subsequent months would see scaling up to a minimum of 100 tonnes per annum, with larger scenarios of up to 1,000 tonnes per annum under consideration.

HyProMag is the primary industrial partner in the Tyseley development and holds the exclusive licence for the underlying HPMS technology, which was initially developed at the University of Birmingham and is now being commercialised.

The remaining equipment and infrastructure at Tyseley would be commissioned in the coming weeks, further paving the way for the transition to commercial production.

Initial production runs used recycled raw materials from wind turbine magnets, voice coil assemblies from hard disk drives, and production scrap, all processed through the existing recycling pilot plant commissioned in 2022 at the University of Birmingham before being transformed into short-loop magnets at Tyseley.

"This is a major milestone for the company, HyProMag and for the UK, creating a strong platform to advance to commercial production and for the scale-up and roll-out of HPMS technology into Germany, the United States and other jurisdictions," said Mkango chief executive officer Will Dawes.

"HyProMag's recycling technology has major competitive advantages versus other recycling technologies, and is a key enabler for the cost effective and energy efficient separation and recycling of rare earth magnets, avoiding the need for dismantling, and enabling the production of magnets with a significantly reduced carbon footprint."

At 1511 GMT, shares in Mkango Resources were up 10.44% at 12.43p.

Reporting by Josh White for Sharecast.com.