Ionic Rare Earths Ltd (ASX:IXR, OTC:IXRRF) has delivered a high-purity terbium oxide sample at the Belfast Pilot Plant following a round of separation beneficiation, strengthening collaborations with Less Common Metals and automotive giant Ford Technologies.
The company says the production of this terbium sample demonstrates its advanced capability and capacity to meet global demand for heavy rare earths, having produced about 2.8 kilograms of terbium oxide of greater than 99.5% purity in early production batches.
Win for the REE industry
“This is another significant milestone for IonicRE, solidifying IonicRE as a leader in this sector as we look to build a secure and sustainable Western supply chain for the wind power and other key clean energy industries,” Ionic Rare Earths executive chair Brett Lynch said.
“The capability to produce these elements to high purity from waste materials generated in the rare earth permanent magnet supply chain, represents a win for the industry and an opportunity to disrupt how Western markets access heavy REOs, especially dysprosium and terbium of which more than 98% of global supply originates from Chinese producers.
“Given the global demand for secure and traceable heavy rare earth oxides (REO), at high purity, we are pleased to demonstrate our capability to separate and purify terbium and dysprosium with our technology.”
IXR subsidiary Ionic Technologies expects to begin separated magnet REO production at its demonstration plant on a continuous basis by the end of the month.
Ionic Technologies path to production.
Demand continues to outpace supply
“Dysprosium and terbium remain in consistently high demand, as we are witnessing first-hand from the reverse enquiry from the supply chain looking at alternative supply of these elements,” Lynch continued.
“Heavy REOs are utilised for the production of the highest specification of permanent magnets, and their criticality is plain to see.
“Demand for dysprosium and terbium is already outstripping supply from traditional sources with this expected to increase significantly by the end of the decade.
“The recycling capability for these elements, in addition to the excellent progress at Ionic Rare Earths’ Makuutu Rare Earths Project in Uganda, show that Ionic Rare Earths and Ionic Technologies are working towards providing resilience, to supply chains as part of a new economy in these strategic raw materials for global decarbonisation.”
The company says it will continue to pursue potential supply chain collaborations with rare earth metal, alloy and magnet manufacturers as well as global original equipment manufacturers (OEMs).
Ionic Technologies technology overview.
“IonicRE is ‘walking the talk’ by demonstrating our ability to produce these strategic REOs at our facility in Belfast, located in close proximity to wind power generation, deployment and decommissioning facilities,” Lynch explained.
“The growth ahead for this clean energy industry is enormous, and we are moving as fast as we can to commercialise this technology to enable the circular economy to support it.
“Our technology is capable of being scaled globally to meet the enormous demand for circular economy value addition to support climate-friendly energy sources such as wind energy.”