Dual-listed Mkango Resources’ 100%-owned subsidiary, Mkango Rare Earths UK, is collaborating with Bowers & Wilkins (B&W) Group, European Metal Recycling (EMR), GKN Automotive Innovation Centre, HyProMag, Jaguar Land Rover and the University of Birmingham (UoB) in the Driving the Electric Revolution challenge at the UK Research and Innovation grant funded Secure Critical Rare Earth Magnets (Scream) project.
For the £3.4-million magnet recycling project, about £2.4-million, or 71%, will be funded by Driving the Electric Revolution, an Industrial Strategy Challenge Fund challenge delivered by UK Research and Innovation (UKRI).
Scream will establish a recycled source of rare earth magnets in the UK to provide greater security of supply to UK industry, while aiming to achieve a 10% reduction in cost and a significant reduction in environmental impact.
It requires an estimated 88% less energy for short loop – that is, magnet to magnet – recycled magnets versus primary mining to separation to metal alloy to magnet production.
The project includes pilot plants for short loop recycling, encompassing scrap pre-processing, hydrogen processing of magnet scrap (HPMS) and production of recycled sintered magnets, as well as for complementary recycling routes, namely remelting and strip casting to produce neodymium, iron and boron (NdFeB) alloys, as well as chemical processing.
Mkango Rare Earths UK’s role in the project is to establish a pilot plant in the UK to chemically process recycled HPMS NdFeB powder and magnet swarf from a range of scrap sources including electronic waste, electric motors and wind turbines, complementing the short loop magnet recycling routes being developed in parallel.
HyProMag will work with the UoB to develop a new semi-continuous version of the HPMS process and to produce short loop recycled sintered magnets at multiple grades to match the requirements for a range of applications.
The budget for Mkango Rare Earths UK’s chemical processing pilot plant programme, to be developed as part of the project, is £1.1-million, of which £800 000 will be funded by the UKRI.
Mkango Rare Earths UK was established by Mkango to evaluate and develop complementary opportunities in rare earth recycling and green technology in the UK.
Mkango also holds a 42% interest in Scream project partner, HyProMag, together with certain offtake and supply rights. HyProMag is pioneering commercialisation of short loop rare earth magnet recycling in the UK and Germany using HPMS technology.
“We are very excited about this innovative project and the opportunity to develop chemical processing of NdFeB magnet scrap in the UK alongside supporting the scale-up of the HPMS technology via our strategic interest in HyProMag.
“We envisage that the recycling of rare earth magnets will play a key role in the development of robust supply chains to catalyse and support growth in the electric vehicle sector and in other clean technologies.
“This project further cements Mkango’s and HyProMag’s early mover advantage in the rare earth magnet recycling sector, highlighting its competitive position and strong network of industry and academic partners,” comments Mkango CE William Dawes.
Mkango is also developing the Songwe Hill rare earths mining project, in Malawi.