PERTH (miningweekly.com) – The UK government’s Investment Security Unit (ISU) has approved ASX-listed Ionic Rare Earth’s acquisition of Seren Technology, under the National Security and Investment Act.
Ionic in December last year entered into a binding term sheet to acquire the UK-based rare earth separation technology company, which has a patent and “know-how” licence from Queens University Belfast allowing it to develop and commercialise technology relating to multifunctional amide ionic liquids (MAIL) for the separation of rare earth metals.
Ionic on Friday said that the ISU approval meant that all conditions to the SerenTech acquisition had now been met.
Ionic will now start the integration of SerenTech, with initial activities focusing on consolidating operations in Belfast, progressing test work and flowsheet development evaluations and modelling for Ionic’s standalone rare earth element separation and refinery, and the installation of a pilot plant to validate process improvements.
Planning will also go into the development of a standalone facility in Belfast to house hydrometallurgical laboratories and a purpose-built magnet recycling demonstration plant to process 30 t/y of spent magnets and swarf to produce 10 t/y of refined and separated magnet rare earth oxides with purity exceeding 99.9%, and to progress commercial relationships on sourcing and recycling spent magnets and swarf.