MKANGO RESOURCES LTD.
550 Burrard Street
Suite 2900
Vancouver
BC V6C 0A3
Canada
HYPROMAG COMMISSIONING UPDATE FOR THE
UK'S FIRST COMMERCIAL SCALE RARE EARTH MAGNET RECYCLING AND
MANUFACTURING PLANT AT TYSELEY ENERGY PARK IN
BIRMINGHAM
Highlights
· Commissioning of
the short-loop magnet recycling and manufacturing
plant at Tyseley Energy Park is continuing to advance with past and
upcoming major milestones as follows:
o Magnet manufacturing presses
delivered and commissioned in December 2023
o Powder processing (sieving,
blending, jet milling) plant delivered in July
2024
o Hydrogen Processing of Magnet
Scrap (HPMS) vessel expected to be delivered in September
2024
o Infrastructure development by
the contractors expected to commence in September 2024, with
start-up of commercial operations now expected in Q1 2025
o The permitting process for
commercial operations is well underway and proceeding as
expected
· The plant is being
commissioned by the University of Birmingham with the support of
HyProMag, the main industrial partner for the project and exclusive
HPMS licencee
· Initial commercial production
is expected at an approximate rate of 25 - 30 tonnes per year of
recycled NdFeB based on 20% capacity utilisation for the first few
months, with approximately two months of NdFeB scrap supply
currently in inventory
· The main commercial product
will initially be a recycled NdFeB alloy for magnet manufacturing
or for chemical processing by third parties - this will be
supplemented with production of recycled sintered NdFeB magnet
blocks for product qualification purposes to support ongoing
HyProMag customer discussions and further
scale-up
· The product suite will have a
minimal carbon footprint, reflecting the highly energy efficient
combination of HPMS with short-loop magnet manufacturing, with
typical product specifications to be issued by HyProMag in due
course
· The production potential at
Tyseley is significantly higher, with potential for a minimum
of 100-330 tonnes per year of recycled NdFeB at full capacity, as
well as opportunities to expand production of sintered blocks and
finished magnets, and significantly larger scale-up scenarios
currently being evaluated
London / Vancouver: July 24, 2024 - Mkango Resources Ltd. (AIM/TSX-V: MKA) (the "Company" or
"Mkango") is pleased to provide an update on the commissioning of
the short-loop rare earth magnet recycling and manufacturing plant
at Tyseley Energy Park in Birmingham, UK. HyProMag limited
("HyProMag") is the main industrial partner for
the project and exclusive HPMS licencee. HyProMag is 100%
owned by Maginito Limited ("Maginito"), which is 79.4% owned by
Mkango and 20.6% owned by CoTec Holdings ("CoTec").
Start-up of commercial operations is
expected in Q1 2025, subject to the remaining equipment being delivered and infrastructure being installed
by the contractors on schedule, as well as completion of the
permitting process. The majority of equipment will initially
be owned by the University of Birmingham and utilised by HyProMag
as the main industrial partner for the project and
exclusive HPMS licencee. HyProMag has ordered additional equipment
to debottleneck certain parts of the process and is evaluating
further ways to optimise and debottleneck the flow
sheet.
William Dawes, Chief
Executive of Mkango stated: "We are excited to see the Tyseley
development progressing towards commercial production, which will
underpin the international roll-out of HPMS technology into
Germany, USA and other jurisdictions such as Japan. Rare earth
magnet recycling is a core focus for Mkango and we are well
positioned given our early move into the sector in January 2020
when we initially invested in HyProMag. Apart from the capability
to develop bespoke recycling solutions for a range of end-of-life
products, we can offer customers a broad suite of recycled NdFeB
products with a very low carbon footprint, and as such we are
receiving high levels of interest from potential offtakers and
partners."
Nick Mann, Managing
Director of HyProMag stated: "In parallel with ongoing commissioning at
Tyseley, HyProMag has been continuing to utilise the existing pilot
facilities at University of Birmingham to expand the portfolio of
magnet grades achievable from end-of-life materials to underpin the
transition to commercial production. By the end of 2024, we are
targeting production of over 10,000 finished recycled magnets from
pilot operations covering a range of grades for demonstration in a
range of applications by a number of end users. The whole team is
excited to roll out this know-how to the commercial scale equipment
which is being commissioned at the Tyseley plant. HyProMag is
proud to be making the UKs first domestically produced sintered
magnets in over twenty years."
Rare earth magnets play a key role in clean energy
technologies including electric vehicles and wind turbine
generators, and they are also a key component in electronic devices
including mobile phones, hard disk drives and loudspeakers. The UK
has no domestic source of primary rare earths. The development of
domestic sources of recycled rare earths via HPMS, a homegrown
technology, is a significant opportunity for the UK to fast-track
the development of sustainable and competitive rare earth magnet
production.
In parallel with the short-loop process being
commercialised by HyProMag, Maginito subsidiary, Mkango Rare Earths
UK, recently commissioned a pilot facility for long-loop chemical
recycling of HPMS product not suitable for the short loop process
as well as swarf.
Both long-loop and short-loop
recycling technologies are underpinned by the
patented HPMS technology developed at University of Birmingham,
which liberates magnets from end-of-life scrap streams in a cost
effective and energy efficient way to produce a recycled NdFeB
alloy powder, which is manufactured into a magnet (via the short loop process) or
into a rare earth carbonate or oxide (via the long loop chemical
process).
HPMS technology is underpinned by
approximately US$100 million of research and development funding,
and has major competitive advantages versus other rare earth magnet
recycling technologies, which are largely focused on chemical
processes but do not solve the challenges of liberating magnets
from end-of-life scrap streams - HPMS provides the
solution.
HyProMag's HPMS recycling technology
was selected by the Minerals Security Partnership ("MSP") for
support as one of its key projects. The technology was selected
because the MSP determined its strong potential to contribute
towards the development of responsible critical mineral supply
chains.
HyProMag is also commercialising
HPMS recycling technology in Germany and United States, with
commercial production targeted for 2025 and 2026, respectively.
HyProMag is also evaluating other jurisdictions, and recently
launched a collaboration with Envipro on rare earth magnet
recycling in Japan.
About Mkango
Mkango is listed on the AIM and the TSX-V. Mkango's
corporate strategy is to become a market leader in the production
of recycled rare earth magnets, alloys and oxides, through its
interest in Maginito Limited ("Maginito"), which is owned 79.4 per
cent by Mkango and 20.6 per cent by CoTec, and to develop new
sustainable sources of neodymium, praseodymium, dysprosium and
terbium to supply accelerating demand from electric vehicles, wind
turbines and other clean energy technologies.
Maginito holds a 100 per cent
interest in HyProMag and a 90 per cent direct and indirect interest
(assuming conversion of Maginito's convertible loan) in HyProMag
GmbH, focused on short loop rare earth magnet recycling in the UK
and Germany, respectively, and a 100 per cent interest in Mkango
Rare Earths UK Ltd ("Mkango UK"), focused on long loop rare earth
magnet recycling in the UK via a chemical route.
Maginito and CoTec are also
rolling out HyProMag's recycling technology into the United States
via the 50/50 owned HyProMag USA LLC joint venture company.
HyProMag is also evaluating other jurisdictions,
and recently launched a collaboration with Envipro on rare earth
magnet recycling in Japan.
Mkango also owns the advanced stage Songwe Hill rare
earths project and an extensive rare earths, uranium, tantalum,
niobium, rutile, nickel and cobalt exploration portfolio in Malawi,
and the Pulawy rare earths separation project in Poland.
Discussions with the Government of Malawi in relation to the Mining
Development Agreement for Songwe Hill are ongoing.
For more information, please
visit www.mkango.ca
Market Abuse Regulation (MAR) Disclosure
The information contained within this
announcement is deemed by the Company to constitute inside
information as stipulated under the Market Abuse Regulations
(EU) No. 596/2014 ('MAR') which has been
incorporated into UK law by the European Union (Withdrawal) Act
2018. Upon the publication of this
announcement via Regulatory Information
Service, this inside information is now considered to be in the
public domain.
Cautionary Note Regarding Forward-Looking
Statements
This news release contains forward-looking statements
(within the meaning of that term under applicable securities laws)
with respect to Mkango. Generally, forward looking statements can
be identified by the use of words such as "targeted", "plans",
"expects" or "is expected to", "scheduled", "estimates" "intends",
"anticipates", "believes", or variations of such words and phrases,
or statements that certain actions, events or results "can", "may",
"could", "would", "should", "might" or "will", occur or be
achieved, or the negative connotations thereof. Readers are
cautioned not to place undue reliance on forward-looking
statements, as there can be no assurance that the plans, intentions
or expectations upon which they are based will occur. By their
nature, forward-looking statements involve numerous assumptions,
known and unknown risks and uncertainties, both general and
specific, that contribute to the possibility that the predictions,
forecasts, projections and other forward-looking statements will
not occur, which may cause actual performance and results in future
periods to differ materially from any estimates or projections of
future performance or results expressed or implied by such
forward-looking statements. Such factors and risks include, without
limiting the foregoing, the availability of (or delays in
obtaining) financing to develop the various recycling plants in the
UK, Germany, governmental action and other market effects on global
demand and pricing for the metals and associated downstream
products for which Mkango is researching and developing, , the
ability to scale the HPMS and chemical recycling technologies to
commercial scale, competitors having greater financial capability
and effective competing technologies in the recycling and
separation business of Maginito, availability of scrap supplies for
recycling activities, government regulation (including the impact
of environmental and other regulations) on and the economics in
relation to recycling and the development of the various recycling
plants of Maginito and future investments in the United States
pursuant to the cooperation agreement between Maginito and CoTec,
the outcome and timing of the completion of the feasibility
studies, cost overruns, complexities in building and operating the
plants, and the positive results of feasibility studies on the
various proposed aspects of Maginito's activities. The
forward-looking statements contained in this news release are made
as of the date of this news release. Except as required by law, the
Company disclaims any intention and assume no obligation to update
or revise any forward-looking statements, whether as a result of
new information, future events or otherwise, except as required by
applicable law. Additionally, the Company undertakes no obligation
to comment on the expectations of, or statements made by, third
parties in respect of the matters discussed above.
For further
information on Mkango, please contact:
Mkango Resources
Limited
William
Dawes
Alexander Lemon
Chief Executive Officer
President
will@mkango.ca
alex@mkango.ca
Canada: +1 403 444 5979
www.mkango.ca
@MkangoResources
SP Angel Corporate
Finance LLP
Nominated Adviser and Joint Broker
Jeff Keating, Caroline Rowe
UK: +44 20 3470 0470
Alternative Resource
Capital
Joint Broker
Alex Wood, Keith Dowsing
UK: +44 20 7186 9004/5
The TSX Venture Exchange has
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Services Provider (as that term is defined in the policies of the
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accuracy of this release.
This press release does not constitute an offer to sell or a
solicitation of an offer to buy any equity or other securities of
the Company in the United States. The securities of the Company
will not be registered under the United States Securities Act of
1933, as amended (the "U.S. Securities Act") and may not be offered
or sold within the United States to, or for the account or benefit
of, U.S. persons except in certain transactions exempt from the
registration requirements of the U.S. Securities
Act.