HyProMag USA aims to develop rare earth magnet facility in US

CoTec Holdings Corp. and Mkango Resources Ltd. recently have announced the result of an independent feasibility study for HyProMag USA LLC on the development of a rare earth magnet recycling and manufacturing operation in the United States.

The companies say the project is underpinned by the patented hydrogen processing of magnet scrap technology developed at the United Kingdom-based University of Birmingham’s Magnetic Materials Group and is being commercialized by HyProMag in the U.S., U.K. and Germany. The process recovers neodymium iron boron (NdFeB) permanent magnets from end-of-life scrap streams in the form of a demagnetized NdFeB metallized alloy powder for remanufacture into recycled NdFeB magnets with a reduced carbon footprint. The partners say the process has competitive advantages over other magnet recycling methods that use chemical processes.

The companies say sintered NdFeB magnets will be produced in the U.S. using materials sourced in the country, contributing to the security of an NdFeB permanent magnet supply and enabling economical, traceable domestic production of recycled NdFeB magnets that will support the defense, aerospace, automotive, medical science, hyperscale data centers, robotics and energy transition industries.

“We are very pleased with the results of the independent feasibility study, which further demonstrates the advanced commercialization potential of HyProMag’s technology,” says Julian Treger, CEO of London-based CoTec. “HyProMag has the capacity to provide the United States with a secure domestic source of permanent magnets to accelerate the revitalizing of U.S. magnet production, metallization and skills development—a strategic priority for the U.S. government.

“The detailed engineering design phase is expected to deliver further cost savings and design improvements, which should enhance the project’s metrics even further. The company is now focused on securing funding from the U.S. government, financing, offtake and feed supply. The end-to-end process of recycling end-of-life NdFeB magnets into new sintered NdFeB magnets is supported by the Minerals Security Partnership, which aims to accelerate the development of secure, diverse and sustainable supply chains for critical minerals. We are very excited the business can be used as a platform to create a market-leading position for low-cost, low-carbon magnet recycling.”

HyProMag is 100 percent owned by Canada-based Maginito Ltd., which is owned by both Calgary, Alberta-based mining company Mkango (79.4 percent) and London-based CoTec (20.6 percent). CoTec and Maginito share 50-50 ownership of HyProMag USA. Following completion of the feasibility study, the companies say the project will move to its engineering design and value engineering phases, and expect to select a location for a facility in the first half of 2025, with a target to complete site permitting by the year’s fourth quarter and begin full operations by 2027.

As the engineering design and value engineering phases take place, product and operational testing will continue in the U.K. at the University of Birmingham Magnetic Materials Group pilot plant in conjunction with HyProMag commercial developments in the U.K. and Germany. In parallel, HyProMag USA is working toward securing potential U.S. government funding, U.S. state financial grants and incentives and strategic partnerships with U.S. companies. The company claims significant progress was made in the areas of feed supply and recycled NdFeB magnet offtake during the feasibility study, and the project will proceed with securing long-term commercial agreements.

CoTec says it is responsible for funding the next phases of the project, with that funding provided through shareholder loans to HyProMag USA.

The partners say the project will use a “hub and spoke” operational model, with a central hub located in the Dallas-Fort Worth area of Texas, supported by two preprocessing spoke sites in the eastern and western U.S. Dallas-Fort Worth was chosen as a potential hub site because of its central location in the U.S., its sizable electronic scrap recycling activities, its proximity to national railroads and interstate highways and an ease of doing business, the companies say. Potential spoke sites are being considered in Nevada and South Carolina.

“This is a major milestone for HyProMag, further validating the technology and opportunity to roll it out into the United States,” Mkango CEO Will Dawes says. “Our strategy to develop rare earth magnet recycling and manufacturing hubs in the United States, U.K., Germany and, in the future, Asia, is aligned with the evolving geopolitical environment through the development of more robust rare earth supply chains for the respective domestic markets, while catalyzing new centers of excellence in magnetic materials and cross-fertilization of skills across jurisdictions and between industry and academia.”

The feasibility study is based on the development of a “state-of-the-art” 40-year magnet manufacturing facility in Dallas-Fort Worth, capable of producing up to 750 metric tons payable of sintered NdFeB magnets and 291 metric tons of associated MdFeB coproducts per year. CoTec says first revenue is targeted for the first quarter of 2027.

The company says the feasibility study demonstrates robust economics at current prices and indicates a “significant upside” based on the forecast recovery in the rare earths market. The upfront capital cost of the project is $125 million, and will allow for expansion with the inclusion of a third HPMS vessel within three years following commissioning for an additional capital cost of approximately $7 million.

The company says the project will provide a long-term, traceable source of permanent magnets for U.S. industries that include applications for electric vehicles (EVs), wind turbines and many electronic devices critical for U.S. mineral supply chains and the energy transition. Additionally, the project is expected to create approximately 90 jobs in relation to magnet manufacturing.