The Board of Ionic Rare Earths Limited (“IonicRE” or the “Company”) (ASX: IXR) is pleased to advise on progress at Ionic Technologies International Ltd (“IonicTech”). IonicTech is the rebranded 100% owned subsidiary (formerly Seren Technologies Ltd) based in Belfast UK, which the Company acquired earlier in 2022. IonicTech has developed rare earth element separation and refining technology and applied this to the recycling and refining of individual magnet rare earths from spent permanent magnets.

• New Ionic Technologies facility fit out progressing on schedule with analytical and hydrometallurgical labs now operational
  
• Magnet recycling pilot plant has produced over 5 kg of Nd₂O₃ and Dy₂O₃ products as part of verification program processing NdFeB swarf
  
• Demonstration plant equipment being received with commissioning planned to commence late March 2023, with first demonstration plant magnet rare earth oxides (REO) expected late June 2023
• Expanding the technical and business development team to accelerate technology scale up

Over the past quarter significant progress has been made at our newly established facility in Belfast, UK, which is progressing on schedule, with the new facility now home to the expanding team.

The new facility, located in the Titanic Quarter in Belfast, has been equipped with analytical and hydrometallurgical laboratories, plus piloting and demonstration plant bays to progress the scale-up verification of the technology. Additionally, the team is being expanded in Belfast to accelerate the work streams with current plans for commissioning of the demonstration plant expected in late Q1 2023, and first recycled rare earth oxide (REO) products produced by the end of Q2 2023.

In September, the Company was awarded a grant of £1.72 million (approximately A$2.9 million) from the UK Government’s Innovate UK Automotive Transformation Fund Scale-up Readiness Validation (SuRV) program, to develop a demonstration scale magnet recycling plant, a significant step towards securing the UK supply of critical rare earth metals for EV manufacture.

IonicRE is evaluating several opportunities for commercialisation of the technology offering from IonicTech, into modular magnet recycling initiatives and partnerships, with global governments looking to develop domestic magnet REO supply chains to empower localised manufacturing, including EV and renewable energy transitions. Such partnerships will also provide more secure and traceable supply chains for critical raw material.

Having recently visited the Belfast facility to observe progress made at IonicTech, IonicRE’s Managing Director Mr Tim Harrison commented:

“The progress in Belfast has been very positive over the past 10 weeks since visiting in September. To see the facility taking shape to now support the growing team, the laboratories and analytical equipment now installed and operational, and magnet REO products being produced, bodes well for further positive developments in 2023.”

“We see the successful demonstration plant at Belfast as a key catalyst for the Company in being able to establish meaningful supply chain partnerships in value addition beyond the magnet REOs we will produce, and the ability to deploy the technology into several opportunities we have identified to date.”

Magnet Rare Earth Oxides Produced in Belfast

The recently completed pilot plant campaigns have further validated the improvements incorporated in the technology and process since the acquisition in April 2022, demonstrating hydrometallurgical extraction from Neodymium-Iron-Boron (NdFeB) swarf, supplied by a UK metal and alloy manufacturer.

The latest completed campaign treated a swarf (waste material from alloy manufacturing) treating a sample rich in both magnet REEs, Neodymium (Nd) and Dysprosium (Dy). The pilot campaign successfully processed the swarf (Figure 1) into a number of intermediary REE products (Figure 2), prior to the separation (Figure 3), and production of approximately 5 kgs of separated high purity rare earth oxides (REO), Nd2O3 and Dy2O3, with analysis pending (Figure 4). Internal and external analysis of the products confirms they are consistent with separated REO products produced and sourced from existing Chinese producers.

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