Ionic Rare Earths (ASX: IXR) has confirmed its purchase of the ‘cutting edge’ rare earths separation technology provider SerenTech, in a move that will see the miner apply the technology at its Makuutu earn-in project in Uganda.
The acquisition, which comes following completion of a due diligence period, will allow Ionic to gain immediate rare earth separation and refining capability that will allow for the production of ‘high purity’ rare earth products.
The technology, developed by SerenTech and held under an exclusive license from the Queens University Belfast, provides a number of benefits including high separation capability, reduction of harmful acid use, better recyclability and a complete elimination of toxic waste products.
Commenting on the acquisition, Ionic Rare Earths Managing Director Tim Harrison said: “The due diligence process has confirmed the potential for the technology to be very value accretive for IonicRE in its ability to help unlock the downstream value of the Makuutu basket plus also move swiftly on magnet recycling potential across Europe, the UK and the US.
Preliminary test work has confirmed high separation factors at more moderate pH conditions compared to alternative options for REE separation, along with recent enhancements in the magnet recycling flowsheet which will potentially further improve the commercial attractiveness of the technology. A new pilot plant program is planned to commence in Q2 2022 which will feed into the next phase of validation prior to a potential demonstration plant later in 2022.
“A new pilot plant program is planned to commence in Q2 2022 which will feed into the next phase of validation prior to a potential demonstration plant later in 2022″
Additionally, the Company plans to initiate a new engineering study on the magnet recycling project to revise the prior 2018 study up to 2022 basis to confirm expected operational and capital cost estimates to feed into commercialisation plans.
The team at SerenTech has identified a number of potential opportunities to move rapidly in the scale up from demonstration to commercial development of the technology for magnet recycling, which will now be explored with key supply chain stakeholders. Initial discussions with potential industry participants have identified significant interest to take advantage of SerenTech’s hydrometallurgical magnet recycling technology for the extraction and refining of magnet rare earths for use in new high specification magnets.
Finally, the acquisition of SerenTech provides IonicRE with an inhouse test work capability to execute new test work programs which is expected to complement the development of IonicRE’s refinery flowsheet. The IonicRE team has been engaging with the SerenTech team to map out next steps to help validation of key process chemistry and design criteria inputs for the Refinery Scoping Study.”
The terms of the agreement will see Ionic pay US$1,000,000 in cash and issue 48 million fully paid ordinary shares to SarenTech, along with milestone payments up to US$1,500,000.
Looking forward, IXR is planning a new pilot program for an integrated magnet recycling flowsheet ahead of a planned demonstration plant later in 2022.
Near-term opportunities for optimisation on the magnet recycling flowsheet were identified and demonstrated by recent test work. The company is also commencing preliminary discussions with magnet recycling initiatives in Europe and the US.
