LONDON (ShareCast) - (Sharecast News) - Mkango Resources announced the first commercial-scale production runs at its rare earth magnet recycling facility in Birmingham on Monday, marking a major milestone in the rollout of hydrogen-based processing technology for neodymium-iron-boron (NdFeB) magnets in the UK.
The AIM-traded firm said the hydrogen processing of magnet scrap (HPMS) vessel, developed by the University of Birmingham's Magnetic Materials Group and supported by Mkango's subsidiary HyProMag, had now started operations at the Tyseley Energy Park plant.

It said the site is the UK's first and only commercial-scale facility for sintered magnet manufacturing and rare earth recycling.

HyProMag was targeting initial UK sales of half a tonne of recycled NdFeB alloy per month by the end of July, rising to at least two tonnes per month by the end of 2025, with long-term expansion potential to between 100 and 350 tonnes annually.

The HPMS-derived product contains more than 28% total rare-earth content and is comparable to primary NdFeB magnet alloy, but with a significantly lower carbon footprint.

"This is a major milestone for Mkango, HyProMag, the University of Birmingham and all our stakeholders," said Mkango chief executive officer Will Dawes.

"Bringing back sintered magnet manufacturing to the UK after a 20-year hiatus will be a major step forward for the UK's critical mineral ambitions."

Nick Mann, managing director of HyProMag, said the first commercial HPMS powder production was "a credit to the dedication and vision" of the teams involved, while Allan Walton, head of the Magnetic Materials Group, called the plant "a commercial scale demonstration of a technology over 20 years in the making".

The Birmingham facility was developed with support from UK Research and Innovation under the Industrial Strategy Challenge Fund.

HyProMag had secured access to scrap inventories and offtake agreements to underpin operations and is progressing customer qualification and sales.

At the same time, the company said HyProMag was expanding its recycling footprint internationally.

A plant in Pforzheim, Germany was due to begin production by the end of 2025, while first output in the US is targeted for 2027.

Additional markets under evaluation included Japan, Canada, and South Korea.

Mkango said it aimed to become a global leader in recycled rare earth magnets through its 79.4%-owned Maginito subsidiary.

The company said it was also advancing the Songwe Hill and Pulawy rare earths projects in Malawi and Poland, both of which have been designated Strategic Projects under the EU Critical Raw Materials Act and were being prepared for a Nasdaq listing via a SPAC merger.

At 1207 BST, shares in Mkango Resources were up 1.9% at 31.59p.

Reporting by Josh White for Sharecast.com.

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