Mkango Resources Limited has launched a rare earth magnet recycling and manufacturing facility at Tyseley Energy Park in Birmingham, UK. Marking the UK’s first commercial rare earth magnet production in 25 years.
Developed by the Magnetic Materials Group and HyProMag Limited, the site uses patented Hydrogen Processing of Magnet Scrap (HPMS) technology, capable of recovering more than 400kg of rare earth alloy per batch and producing up to 100 tonnes of sintered magnets annually on a single shift. The project supports the UK Government’s Critical Minerals Strategy and forms part of Mkango’s wider rollout of HPMS technology, including planned expansions in Germany and the United States, where a proposed Texas hub has an estimated post-tax net present value of $409 million.
William Dawes, Chief Executive of Mkango and Director of HyProMag commented: “This is a landmark achievement and transformational for rare earth supply chains, bringing back magnet manufacturing to the UK after 25 years and is underpinned by a home-grown technology, HPMS, that not only delivers a cost advantage, but has a minimal carbon footprint. Since Mkango’s first investment in HyProMag in 2020 and HyProMag UK’s ongoing collaboration with the University of Birmingham as the commercial partner and exclusive licensee, it is fantastic to see HPMS technology progress to commercialisation with the support of Innovate UK and ongoing collaboration with the University of Birmingham and is a credit to the vision and determination of everyone involved. This development provides a strong platform for further scale-up in the UK and international roll-out, already underway in Germany and the USA, with other countries being assessed for further expansion.”
Nick Mann, Managing Director of HyProMag Ltd commented: “Since 2020 HyProMag has been working closely with the University of Birmingham’s Magnetic Materials Group to further develop and commercialise their patented recycling technology. Hydrogen Processing of Magnet Scrap, exclusively licenced to HyProMag, gives us the method to extract magnets from end of life applications and recycle them into new magnets in a commercially viable and very low carbon process. Expansion of equipment and knowledge keeps pushing the boundaries of what we are achieving and this commercial scale facility at Tyseley is no exception, with results achieved in our commercial runs already exceeding results at the pilot facility. HyProMag are well placed to maximise this opportunity and further develop magnet supply opportunities both in the UK and overseas. Our expanding team is excited by this next phase of our development.”
Allan Walton, Head of the Magnetic Materials Group at the University of Birmingham and Founding Director of HyProMag Ltd, commented: “The first use of hydrogen for recycling of magnets was proposed by the late Emeritus Professor Rex Harris who started the recycling activities in the group over 20 years ago. Since that time, the group has scaled multiple processes to sense, sort, extract, purify, and recycle rare earth magnets. This has only been possible because of the commitment of the highly skilled team within the MMG and due to the large interdisciplinary projects the group has taken part in across the rare earth value chain.”
For further information on Mkango, please contact:
Mkango Resources Limited
William Dawes Alexander Lemon
Chief Executive Officer President
Canada: +1 403 444 5979
