⚗️ NdPr DyTb | REO Analyst 🧲⭐

Regarding the Acquisition of Shares in ReElement Technologies Corporat… | News | Mitsubishi Materials Corporation mmc.co.jp/corporate/en/n…

There’s a growing mismatch between rising use of rare earth elements across a wide range of technologies & the slow pace of supply diversification globally. New projects, partnerships & policies are needed to address supply chain risks. Our report 👉 iea.li/4mhE6Hn

From lab to factory. The twenty-year journey to recycle rare earth magnets BBC Midlands Today video report from 3 February 2026, covering the opening of HyProMag's Birmingham commercial plant 🧲 Twenty years. One Birmingham lab. Now the UK's first rare earth magnet factory in 25 years is open — and it runs on hydrogen. The BBC just covered HyProMag's commercial plant opening in Birmingham and it's one of the most important UK manufacturing stories of 2026. Here's why it matters. 🧵 ⚗️ THE SCIENCE — hydrogen does what shredders can't [1/5] Here's the problem with recycling rare earth magnets the old way. You shred the product — the magnets pop out and stick to the shredder. The rare earths are lost forever into iron slag. HyProMag's solution? Expose the magnet to hydrogen gas. The magnet absorbs the hydrogen, the grain boundaries crack, and the whole thing disintegrates into a fine demagnetised powder — still in alloy form, ready to be pressed back into new magnets. No acid. No smelter. No China. That's HPMS — Hydrogen Processing of Magnet Scrap — 20 years in the making at the University of Birmingham. 🎓 🏭 THE MILESTONE — UK's first magnet production in 25 years [2/5] The Birmingham plant is producing: Up to 2 tonnes of recycled NdFeB powder per day at this scale At just 10% of the energy cost of making brand new magnets from virgin rare earths Powder that is pressed, heated and reformed directly into new sintered magnets — no separation required Opened by a UK government minister — reflecting strategic national importance 🇬🇧 Prof. Allan Walton (University of Birmingham, HyProMag co-founder): "We followed this idea for more than 10 years. 40–50 people developed this facility." This isn't a lab. This is a commercial factory. Running. In the Midlands. Today. 🔗 THE CHAIN — HPMS powder flows straight back into magnets [3/5] This is what makes HyProMag's short-loop process so powerful. Most recyclers dissolve everything down to oxides. HyProMag keeps the material as alloy powder throughout — skipping the most expensive and energy-intensive steps entirely: ♻️ Scrap EV motors / HDDs / wind turbines ⬇️ HPMS hydrogen process → demagnetised NdFeB alloy powder ⬇️ Press + sinter → new high-performance magnets No acid leaching. No solvent extraction. No rare earth oxide refining. Result: 25% more output than primary production, 90% energy savings. ⚡ Partners feeding the chain: EMR Group (scrap supply), LCM (melt route alloys), Adey, Jaguar Land Rover, University of Birmingham — and multiple DRIVE35 / Innovate UK funded projects including REACT UK, SCREAM and REEmelt. THE FUNDING & SCALE [4/5] HyProMag isn't early-stage anymore. This is a company with: 🇬🇧 Multiple Innovate UK / APC / DRIVE35 grants 🇺🇸 HyProMag USA — scale-up in South Carolina + Texas via CoTec/Mkango JV 🎯 US target: 10 facilities, 15,000 tpa within a decade 🔬 TRL 8–9 — demonstrated, commissioned, operating commercially 📋 REACT UK — £6.5m DRIVE35 project just announced April 2026 with JLR, EMR, LCM, University of Birmingham 🧲 SCREAM — UK short + medium loop magnet recycling pilot 🌍 Mkango Resources (TSXV/AIM: MKA) — parent company with Malawi rare earth project feeding long-term HREE supply 🌍 THE BIG PICTURE — The West needs this [5/5] The BBC reporter puts it plainly: "Almost all of these magnets come from China. And that dependence makes politicians a bit twitchy." 80–90% of rare earth metals sourced from a single country. China banned export of magnet manufacturing technology in Dec 2023. US 25% tariffs on Chinese magnets hit in 2026. HyProMag's Birmingham plant is the West's answer: ✅ Commercially operating — not a pilot ✅ UK-sovereign, China-free magnet production ✅ Replicable anywhere there is scrap — EVs, HDDs, wind, defence ✅ 20 years of University of Birmingham IP at its core ✅ Government minister opened the doors 🇬🇧 "From an idea in a lab to commercial rare earth magnets made in the Midlands." — BBC Midlands Today, Feb 2026 This is what the energy transition actually looks like. ⚡🧲 #HyProMag #RareEarths #MagnetRecycling @MkangoResources #NdFeB #CircularEconomy #UKManufacturing #Birmingham #HPMS #HydrogenProcessing #EVSupplyChain #WindEnergy #DefenceSupplyChain #ChinaSupplyChain #EnergyTransition #NetZero #InnovateUK #DRIVE35 #UniversityOfBirmingham @roblun1

📚 Part of a Bigger Series x.com/roblun1/status… This REECycle Magnet Recycling breakdown is part of my ongoing series on the new magnet‑recycling and separation ecosystem — covering how different technologies and business models stack up across Ionic Technologies, Cyclic Materials, REEcycle, ReElement, Ucore, and HyProMag, and will be adding Caremag/Carester comparing product purity, processing routes, scalability, and where each fits in the emerging circular magnet supply chain. REECycle Inc. 🔬 DEEP DIVE — REECycle Inc.: The Houston company quietly solving America's rare earth national security crisis with a NASA-born robotic system and a patented solvent nobody else has The US relies on China for 97% of the rare earth magnets that go into every missile, EV, wind turbine, radar system and stealth aircraft it builds. REECycle Inc. is one of the most technically differentiated companies working to change that — and almost nobody outside the defence community is talking about them. Here's everything you need to know. 🧵 ⚙️ THE TECH — Two inventions, one closed loop Most e-waste recyclers shred hard drives. That destroys the magnets. REECycle doesn't shred — they built the DDM: Drive Disassembly Machine, a robotic system co-developed with NASA JPL engineers that extracts intact NdFeB voice coil magnets before shredding — at just $8/kg processing cost. Those magnets then go into REECycle's proprietary low-temperature solvent reactor — operating below 100°C, at low pressure — which selectively dissolves Nd and Dy while leaving iron and boron completely separate. No acid leaching. No toxic tailings. No radioactive waste. The result: 99.8% pure Mixed Rare Earth Oxide with >95% REE recovery efficiency. 🧲 #REECycle #RareEarths #CriticalMinerals #DDM #NASA 📊 THE OUTPUT — Precisely tuned for NdFeB magnet makers Per kg of MREO produced: 🔵 Nd₂O₃ — 86.50% (magnetic strength) 🟢 Pr₂O₃ — 5.70% (magnetic enhancement) 🟠 Dy₂O₃ — 4.40% (high-temp coercivity) 🔴 Tb₂O₃ — 1.63% (extreme heat performance) No cerium. No lanthanum. No cheap light REEs dragging down margins. Just the four elements magnet makers actually need. Environmental metrics: 90% less energy, 90% lower CO₂, zero radioactive byproducts, 50% lower cost for Dy/Tb vs Greenfield mining. ♻️ 💰 THE FUNDING — DoD says this matters for national defence 🏛️ NSF SBIR Phase I: $1.96M (2015) 🏛️ NSF SBIR Phase II: $9.86M (2019) 🇺🇸 DoD DPA Title III: $5.1M (January 2025) 🔬 DOE National Clean Energy Prize (2014 — Grand Prize) 🇦🇺 Reach Resources / REEgenerate: $1.8M equity + exclusive acquisition option (2022) The Defence Production Act Title III designation is the key one. That's the US federal government deploying sovereign capital to de-risk a technology it considers essential for military readiness. When DoD writes that cheque, it's not ESG — it's national security. 🛡️ war.gov/News/Releases/… 🗺️ THE ROADMAP — Demo → DFS → 100 tpa commercial 📅 2012 — Founded at University of Houston 📅 2014 — Won DOE National Clean Energy Prize 📅 2015 — 75 kg/batch Houston demo plant built 📅 Jan 2025 — DoD DPA Title III $5.1M 📅 Q3 2025 — Demo plant restarted; first MREO production 📅 2025–2026 — Definitive Feasibility Study for 100 tpa commercial plant 📅 Procurement — High-capacity vacuum furnace pre-ordered (300 tpa capacity) 🎯 CEO Rasmus Gerdeman — former Chief Strategy Officer at Livent ($2.4bn lithium producer) Modular design means this plant is replicable anywhere — adjacent to defence contractors, federal e-waste depots, corporate data centres. 🏭 ⚖️ HONEST PERSPECTIVE — Where REECycle actually sits right now Let's be straight. REECycle is not Cyclic Materials ($162M raised, 600 tpa targeted 2026). It's not HyProMag (TRL 8–9, multiple commercial contracts, UK/US scale-up underway) or other Magnet Recyclers What REECycle is right now: 🔬 A 75 kg/batch demo plant in Houston — restarted mid-2025 📋 A DFS underway for a 100 tpa commercial plant — not yet built 💰 ~$18M total funding — modest vs peers 🌐 Thin public profile — very little third-party analyst coverage 📄 No publicly confirmed commercial offtake agreements yet What makes it worth watching anyway: 🇺🇸 DoD DPA Title III — the US government doesn't write that cheque casually 🧪 Chemistry that is genuinely different — no acid, no radioactive waste, reusable solvent 🤖 Robotic DDM system that could scale modularly at e-waste collection points 🇦🇺 Reach Resources (ASX: RR1) holds an exclusive option to acquire 100% of REECycle — Australian listed-market exposure Early stage. Real technology. Strategic validation. Worth monitoring closely. 👀 🛡️ THE BIG PICTURE — Why this matters for the West China banned export of rare earth magnet production technology in Dec 2023. 25% US tariffs on Chinese magnets take full effect 2026. The bifurcated global market means ex-China buyers face massive price premiums. REECycle's process doesn't need a mine, doesn't produce radioactive waste, and costs 50% less to produce heavy REEs like Dy and Tb than digging them out of the ground. The feedstock? It's already inside the world's data centres, car fleets and wind farms. "Transforming defence waste from an environmental liability into a strategic reserve." 🇺🇸 #REECycle #RareEarths #HardDiskDrives #DefenceIndustrialBase #MagnetRecycling #CriticalMinerals #NdFeB #CircularEconomy #CleanEnergy #EVSupplyChain #WindEnergy #NationalSecurity #UrbanMining @ReecycleInc #DPA #DoD #NSF #DOE #ReachResources @roblun1

One month in, and Aclara’s rare earths separation pilot plant at Virginia Tech is already advancing our mine-to-alloys vision. Discover what this milestone means and hear from some of our key stakeholders: #RareEarths #Mining @virginia_tech $ARA.TO

🧨 The IMF just quantified what rare earth geeks have warned for years: An 80% disruption in REE supply can shave up to 1.8% off GDP in the most exposed economies. The International Monetary Fund (IMF) this week presented its latest World Economic Outlook. It projects moderate global economic growth of around 3.1% for the current year, which is expected to be dampened by the war in the Middle East through higher energy prices and rising inflation. Emerging markets and resource-importing economies, in particular, are under pressure. The IMF also dedicates a separate chapter to the risks of disruptions in rare earth supply chains. Such disruptions could lead to significant declines in GDP in major economies, including the United States and Germany. That’s not “minor supply risk” — that’s a macro shock. And it all hinges on a value chain where one country controls the bulk of mining, separation and magnets. rawmaterials.net/international-… But there’s a faster, cheaper way to de‑risk this. ♻️🧲 ♻️ Rare earth recycling beats mining on economics AND security: High‑grade streams (NdFeB motors, HDDs, wind turbines) can recover 95–98% of REEs, versus 65–75% from primary ore. Recycled neodymium costs roughly US$3–5/kg, vs US$8–12/kg from primary production. Recycling uses 50–90% less energy than mining + refining virgin material, slashing both operating costs and emissions. Cheaper. Cleaner. Closer to end‑use markets. And impossible to embargo once the scrap is domestic. IMF’s takeaway is clear: Large rare earth disruptions don’t just hit EVs and wind — they ripple through manufacturing, defence and broader GDP when substitution options are limited. Neodymium, praseodymium, dysprosium, and terbium are of particular economic importance. These four elements, which are essential for permanent magnets, account for 96% of the total market value of rare earths. If governments treat REEs like oil, then urban mines (motors, turbines, electronics) are the new shale. Every tonne of magnets we recycle is: ✅ Less exposure to export controls ✅ Less capex sunk into risky greenfield projects ✅ Less price volatility feeding into inflation Recycling isn’t “nice to have ESG”. It’s cheap insurance against a macro‑level supply shock. #RareEarths #IMF #CriticalMinerals #MagnetRecycling #NdFeB #EV #WindEnergy #EnergySecurity #CircularEconomy ♻️ #SupplyChain #Geopolitics 🌍

🧲 THE WEST'S MOST CRITICAL RARE EARTH BOTTLENECK ISN'T IN THE GROUND — IT'S IN A FACTORY IN CHESHIRE 🇬🇧⚡ Everyone talks about mining. Nobody talks about metallisation. You can dig up all the rare earth ore you want. Without the ability to convert oxide → metal → strip-cast NdFeB alloy, you have zero magnets. Zero EV motors. Zero wind turbines. Zero defence systems. 🏭 Less Common Metals (LCM), Ellesmere Port, UK — the sole commercial Western metalliser, free from Far Eastern ownership. Here's why it matters 👇 ⚗️ THE NdPr FURNACE CAPABILITY — THE LIGHT RARE EARTH BACKBONE LCM's electrolysis cells convert neodymium & praseodymium oxide → metal using direct current through a molten salt bath — the same fundamental physics as aluminium smelting, but for rare earths. 🔋 Currently producing 120tpa+ commercially since 2017 📈 Expanding from 2-cell → 6-cell operation 🎯 Target: 330tpa of NdPr metal — tripling capacity ⚙️ Six vacuum induction furnaces (5kg–600kg range) + three resistance-heated furnaces The strip-cast furnaces take that NdPr metal and pour molten alloy onto a rotating water-cooled copper drum, creating rapidly-cooled flake with the precise microstructure sintered magnet makers demand. 🏆 Two 600kg strip-cast furnaces | ~1,400tpa NdFeB alloy capacity | ONLY commercial NdFeB strip-casting in the Western world Why does compositional precision matter? LCM's recipes require 31% Nd, 5% Pr, specific B and Fe ratios — and that recipe changes depending on whether the end-use is an EV traction motor, a wind turbine, or a defence application. You cannot dial that in without individually separated, high-purity oxide inputs. Purity isn't a premium — it's a prerequisite. ♻️ Scrap → REO → metal → strip‑cast alloy → new magnets 🌍 Lower CO₂, full traceability, circular supply chains 🛡️ Real supply security for UK, NATO and EV OEMs 🔬 THE DyFe & Tb FURNACES — THE HEAVY RARE EARTH DIFFERENTIATOR In 2023, LCM added dysprosium iron (DyFe) and terbium (Tb) production streams. This is where it gets strategically serious. 🎯 ~30tpa target for each — Dy and Tb 🛡️ These heavy rare earths provide thermal stability in high-performance magnets — critical for EV traction motors that run hot, jet engines, and missile guidance systems 🌍 Heavy rare earth processing is almost entirely concentrated in Chinese facilities globally ⚡ LCM's recipe demands 1.2% Dy — small in percentage, enormous in strategic value Without DyFe and Tb capability, you can make a magnet. You cannot make a magnet that performs under real-world defence and EV operating conditions. LCM is one of the only Western facilities that can close this gap commercially. ♻️ THE IONIC TECHNOLOGIES CONNECTION — CIRCULAR BY DESIGN Paired with Ionic Technologies' recycled REOs and magnet-maker partner VAC (Vacuumschmelze), LCM anchors the Western midstream: ♻️ Scrap → REO → Metal → Strip-Cast Alloy → New Magnets 🌍 Lower CO₂ | Full traceability | Circular supply chains 🛡️ Real supply security for UK, NATO & EV OEMs This is the £11M CirculaREEconomy (CREEM) government-backed consortium — 10 partners, building the world's first fully integrated Western rare earth recycling chain. ♻️ THE HyProMag CONNECTION — CIRCULAR BY DESIGN Paired with rare earth refiner Mkango Rare Earths UK, automotive scrap giant EMR Group, magnet-maker partner Jaguar Land Rover, metalliser Less Common Metals (LCM), and the University of Birmingham, HyProMag anchors a second critical strand of the Western midstream: ♻️ EV scrap motor → HPMS powder → Oxide → Metal → Strip-Cast Alloy → New Magnets 🌍 Lower CO₂ | Full traceability | Circular automotive supply chains 🛡️ Real supply security for UK, NATO & EV OEMs This is the £6.5M REACT UK (Rare Earth Automotive Circular Technologies for the UK) government-backed consortium — 6 partners, building the UK's first fully circular NdFeB magnet supply chain for the automotive sector, funded under the £4 billion DRIVE35 programme via the APC and Innovate UK. 🌐 THE STRATEGIC REALITY China doesn’t just dominate rare earth mining — it controls almost all the midstream. Around 90% of global separation and processing and over 90% of sintered magnet output still sit inside Chinese supply chains. Outside China, metallisation capacity is near zero. There is almost no commercial ability in the West to turn high‑purity oxides into NdFeB metals and strip‑cast alloys at scale. That’s what makes Less Common Metals (LCM) unique: it is currently the only Western company strip‑casting NdFeB alloys commercially, with two 600kg furnaces (~1,400tpa) and expanding NdPr metal capacity via electrolysis. In 2023, LCM also added DyFe and Tb production streams, giving the UK rare access to heavy rare earth processing outside China. Put simply: China controls the midstream; LCM is the exception. LCM isn’t just useful — it’s the choke‑point solution. 💡 Metallisation isn’t a nice‑to‑have. 💡 It’s the link the entire Western mine‑to‑magnet chain breaks without. 💡 Backing LCM + Ionic Technologies is how you build a truly sovereign Western mine‑to‑magnet supply chain. 🔗 Learn more: lesscommonmetals.com 📺 Watch the full breakdown: youtu.be/lYxYP_GYuvk @LCM_Metals @EIAgov @MkangoResources @IONICTECH_UK @EMRGroupLimited @USARareEarth @theapcuk @CMA_Minerals #RareEarths #CriticalMinerals #NdFeB #Magnets #EVs #DefenceSupplyChain #LCM #IonicRareEarths #IonicTechnologies #HyProMag #REACTUK #HPMS #MkangoResources #LCM #JaguarLandRover #EMRGroup #CircularEconomy #CREEM #Metallisation #SupplyChainSecurity #MineToMagnet #NATO #WindEnergy #ElectricVehicles #UKManufacturing #REE #Neodymium #Dysprosium #Terbium #WesternSupplyChain #ASX #IXR #CirculaREEconomy

Ucore Receives a Crucial DPAS-Rated Long Lead Equipment Component at the Louisiana SMC ucore.com/ucore-receives… TSXV: $UCU | OTCQX: $UURAF | ucore.com #DPAS #CriticalMetals #RareEarths #REEs #RapidSX #REE #Gadolinium #Lanthanum #Cerium #Samarium #Dysprosium #Louisiana

🇺🇸🇬🇧 A WESTERN FIRST — USA Rare Earth produces commercial-grade yttrium metal, outside China, at LCM's UK facility Yttrium Metal On 15 April 2026, USA Rare Earth (Nasdaq: $USAR) announced the first commercial pour of 2N–2N5 (99%–99.5% purity) yttrium metal — produced by its wholly-owned subsidiary Less Common Metals Ltd (LCM) at its facility in Ellesmere Port, Cheshire, UK. This places LCM and USAR among a very small number of non-Chinese producers of commercial-grade yttrium metal on earth. Full stop. $USAR #UsaRareEarth #LCM #LessCommonMetals #Yttrium #CriticalMinerals USA Rare Earth (USAR) reported on Wednesday the first commercial production of yttrium metal. The production was carried out through its British subsidiary Less Common Metals. CEO Barbara Humpton described this as a milestone, as the rare earth element yttrium has so far been produced almost exclusively in China. In particular, downstream processing into alloys and metals is a stage of the value chain that is almost entirely dominated by companies based there. With the acquisition of Less Common Metals, USA Rare Earth secured this expertise. ⚗️ Why does yttrium matter? Yttrium isn't a magnet REE — but it is deeply strategic. It is essential for: 🛡️ Thermal barrier coatings on turbine blades — aerospace and defence components that must survive extreme heat 🔬 Advanced ceramics, lasers, superconductors and electronics ⚡ Energy systems requiring chemical stability at high temperatures CEO Barbara Humpton: "Combined with our planned yttrium extraction at Round Top and our oxide processing capabilities, this positions USA Rare Earth to serve the aerospace, defence and advanced manufacturing customers who can no longer rely solely on Chinese supply." Round Top, Texas — USAR's in-development heavy rare earth deposit — is expected to be a major domestic yttrium source when in production. globenewswire.com/news-release/2… LESS COMMON METALS LIMITED are heavy (rare earth) metal rock stars! Great work Aaron Riley! The British subsidiary Less Common Metals possesses expertise that is rare outside China in processing the critical raw material into metal. USA Rare Earth (USAR) announced on Wednesday the first commercial production of yttrium metal. The production took place via its British subsidiary Less Common Metals, based in Ellesmere Port in northwest England. CEO Barbara Humpton described this as a milestone, noting that the rare earth element yttrium has so far been produced almost exclusively in China. While other mining companies, such as Lynas in Australia, already operate or are planning oxide processing, the downstream processing into alloys and metals in particular is a stage of the value chain that is almost entirely dominated by Chinese companies. With the acquisition of Less Common Metals last autumn, USAR secured this know-how. The planned production of rare earth magnets and the extraction of the required raw materials from its own Round Top deposit in Texas are intended to complete the value chain. USAR also aims to strengthen its market position through its recent investment in the French company Carester. Its competencies include the separation, processing, and recycling of rare earths. Yttrium is used in various civilian and military high-tech applications, including lasers, LEDs, and thermal barrier coatings, for example, in energy supply and aerospace. It is one of the seven rare earth elements that China, the main producer, imposed strict export restrictions on a year ago. This has had noticeable effects on global supply: in addition to fluctuating export volumes, yttrium has seen significant price increases. 🏭 What is LCM — and why does USAR's acquisition matter? LCM was founded in 1992 and is the only commercial producer of rare earth metals and alloys outside China and its Southeast Asian affiliates — including NdPr metal, NdFeB strip-cast alloy, and now yttrium metal. USAR acquired LCM in 2025, giving the Stillwater, Oklahoma company an immediate, operational UK rare earth platform — allowing it to serve third-party customers in the UK and Europe while feeding its own US magnet manufacturing line. USAR now spans: Round Top (mining) → Ellesmere Port / LCM (metals & alloys) → Stillwater (magnets). The USAR press release describes this explicitly as "a globally integrated rare earth value chain across the United States, United Kingdom and Europe. LCM Projects See Infographic Further LCM Projects Here:⏬ lesscommonmetals.com/projects/ 🔗 LCM's deep UK project network — with IXR's Ionic Technologies and HyProMag and many more. What is less well understood is just how embedded LCM already is in the UK's rare earth circular economy. Here are all current and recent UK government-backed projects: LCM is not just a UK alloy producer. It is the conversion node — in every major UK and EU rare earth project — between oxide separation (Ionic) and magnet manufacturing (VAC, Ford, Bentley). 🎯 The Strategic Picture [5/5] USA Rare Earth now owns the only Western commercial rare earth metals and alloys facility, with: ✅ Yttrium metal production confirmed at 2N–2N5 purity — first non-Chinese commercial pour ✅ NdPr metal & NdFeB alloy — feeding UK, EU and US magnet lines ✅ 6-cell molten salt electrolysis expansion → 330 tpa HRE metal capacity ✅ Embedded in every major UK DRIVE35 project alongside IXR's Ionic Technologies and HyProMag ✅ Round Top (Texas) yttrium + HREE deposit — future domestic feedstock for LCM ✅ Stillwater Phase 1a magnet line — now commissioned The UK projects feed the UK and EU magnet markets. The US platform feeds US defence and EV markets. One company. One integrated chain. Zero China dependency by design. 🇺🇸🇬🇧⚡ ⚠️ Key update for LCM: All prior content should now note that LCM is a wholly-owned subsidiary of USA Rare Earth (Nasdaq: USAR), not an independent company. This significantly strengthens the strategic narrative — USAR-LCM is now a listed, US-anchored entity with a direct mandate from the Pentagon/DoD supply chain drive. USA Rare Earth has explicitly committed that LCM will continue to expand and serve its global customer base from Ellesmere Port — while also supplying NdFeB metals and strip‑cast alloys to USAR’s Stillwater magnet plant — meaning ongoing, long‑term support for UK magnet recyclers and circular‑economy projects built around LCM’s alloys. LCM Acquired by USA Rare Earth in a Transformative Strategy What This Means for Our Customers and the UK Facility The acquisition provides immediate and long-term benefits to our operations, our team and our valued global customer base, such as: 1. Stability and Investment: The acquisition, supported by a significant $125 million equity investment into USAR, provides the capital needed to expedite growth plans and expand LCM’s capabilities in the United Kingdom and Europe. The future of our Cheshire, UK 67,000 square foot facility is secure and ready for expansion. 2. Accelerated Magnet Production: Our primary function—producing high-quality rare-earth metal and strip cast alloy—is the essential feedstock for USAR’s massive new 5,000-ton magnet production facility in Stillwater, Oklahoma. We are now seamlessly integrated into the next generation of Western magnet manufacturing. 3. Critical Defence Materials: We remain the sole Western provider of critical defence materials such as Samarium Cobalt metal and will continue to expand our capacity to serve key defence contractors and allied governments globally. lesscommonmetals.com/lcm-acquired-b… @LCM_Metals @theapcuk @USARareEarth $USAR #UsaRareEarth #LessCommonMetals #LCM #RareEarths #Yttrium #NdFeB #MagnetRecycling #CriticalMinerals #UKManufacturing #DRIVE35 #IonicTechnologies $IXR #HyProMag #CircularEconomy #DefenceSupplyChain #EnergyTransition #RoundTop #Stillwater #ASX #Nasdaq

@MkangoResources subsidiary, #HyProMag, has successfully commissioned a second automated hard disk drive pre-processing unit in the #UK, capable of processing over 30,000 HDDs weekly per unit. #MKA is also rolling out this technology internationally, with units delivered to #Germany and the #USA. share-talk.com/alert-for-mkan… via @Share_Talk

🇪🇺 The European Union has launched its critical minerals platform to boost supply chain resilience & cut reliance on dominant producers. 🌍⛏️ 🛡️ Part of REsourceEU, it connects buyers & suppliers for key materials. 📅 Results due Sept. tinyurl.com/2kwpj62r

🚨 Join the launch webinar for the UK Critical Minerals Website on Wed 30 April, 2:00–3:30pm! 🇬🇧 Discover the UK’s largest critical minerals directory, supporting business, skills & growth. ✍️ Register: tinyurl.com/5yuwuj9s

China’s exports of rare earths fell significantly year-on-year in March. According to customs authorities, shipments declined by just over 27 percent to 4,111 tons. A year earlier, exports had been considerably higher at 5,666 tons—a level that itself was well above those recorded in 2024 (4,710 tons) and 2023 (4,845 tons). Detailed data on the composition of exports are expected to be released next week. #REO #PermanentMagnets #HREE #DyTb

🇪🇺 Big move for Europe’s heavy rare earths. Neo Performance Materials (TSX: $NEO) has successfully commissioned a new heavy rare earth solvent extraction line at its Silmet plant in Sillamäe, Estonia, and has already produced its first separated terbium and dysprosium oxides from mixed rare earth carbonate feedstock — all fully processed in Europe. The small‑scale unit is running at nameplate capacity, validating continuous operation and giving Neo a domestic source of HREEs to feed its new 2,000 tpa sintered NdFeB magnet plant in Narva, Europe’s first mass‑production REE magnet facility. Together, Silmet (oxides) + Narva (magnets) form a vertically integrated European chain from mixed carbonate → separated NdPr/Dy/Tb → finished magnets, directly challenging China’s dominance in high‑performance traction and wind‑turbine magnets. Quick technical answers 1. Is the line at nameplate? Yes. Neo states the small‑scale HREE solvent extraction line at Silmet is operating at its nameplate capacity, producing separated Tb and Dy oxides/process solutions. 2. Feedstock source? The new line takes mixed rare earth carbonate feedstock; Neo only says it is processed “entirely in Europe”, without naming the exact mine/partner in the public releases. But from what I've read, Neo Performance Materials is using mixed rare earth carbonate fed from Energy Fuels’ White Mesa Mill in Utah. This U.S.-to-EU supply chain processes monazite sands, which are sourced from Chemours in Georgia, to produce separated NdPr, Dysprosium (Dy), and Terbium (Tb) oxides in Europe, enhancing Western supply chain. At commercial scale, Silmet expects to process a minimum of 840 t/year TREO from Energy Fuels’ RE carbonate, in addition to its other feed sources. 3. Separation technology at Silmet? Neo explicitly describes the HREE line as solvent extraction (SX), producing separated Tb and Dy oxides (or process solutions) from mixed carbonate under continuous operation. The broader Silmet plant already uses solvent extraction to make NdPr oxide and other high‑purity rare earth specialty materials for Neo’s Magnequench business 4. Magnet plant details (Narva): Neo’s Narva, Estonia plant is described as Europe’s first mass‑production sintered NdFeB magnet facility, with an initial capacity of 2,000 tonnes per year, currently producing qualification samples ahead of full commercial ramp. 5. Nameplate for Nd, Pr, Dy, Tb oxides at Silmet: Public disclosures specify that Silmet already produces NdPr oxide and now, on the HREE line, separated Dy and Tb oxides/process solutions, but do not publish individual tpa nameplate figures for each oxide; they only indicate that the HREE line is “small‑scale” and currently at nameplate capacity, integrated to supply Narva. 🧲For standard / industrial NdFeB grades, REO content is typically in the 30–35 wt% range (rest is Fe, B and trace elements), rising toward the top of that band for high‑Dy/Tb grades like N52 EH/AH. So, for Neo’s Narva plant: 🧲Magnet nameplate: 2,000 tpa sintered NdFeB magnets 🔬Assumed REO fraction: ~1/3 of magnet mass (≈ 33%) — consistent with typical NdFeB compositions across N35–N52 grades ⚗️Implied REO requirement at full utilisation: 2,000 tpa×0.33≈660 tpa of total REOs2,000 tpa×0.33≈660 tpa of total REOs 🏭Neo’s Narva plant is designed for 2,000 tpa of sintered NdFeB magnets. At a typical ~33% REO content per magnet, that implies an effective nameplate demand of ~660 tpa of magnet rare earth oxides (Nd, Pr, Dy, Tb) once the line is fully utilised — a meaningful pull‑through for Silmet’s new separation capacity. 🧪Silmet’s new small‑scale Dy/Tb solvent‑extraction line, already running at nameplate, is effectively the HREE “booster stage” for that 660 tpa REO requirement — giving Europe an integrated NdPr/Dy/Tb supply chain entirely on EU soil. Silmet’s new heavy rare earth line is fed by mixed rare earth carbonate produced by Energy Fuels at White Mesa in Utah, from Chemours’ monazite sands in Georgia — a US‑to‑EU supply chain that Neo is now turning into separated NdPr/Dy/Tb oxides on EU soil At commercial scale, Silmet expects to process a minimum of 840 t/year TREO from Energy Fuels’ RE carbonate, in addition to its other feed sources. neomaterials.com/neo-performanc… Neo’s Narva announcement says the plant will use rare earth feedstock from Silmet (mixed carbonate → separated oxides → magnets) and that Neo aims to build “sintered rare earth permanent magnets developed from recycled end‑of‑life magnets and manufacturing swarf,” describing this as a first‑of‑its‑kind process in Europe. Further Investigation Needed @MaterialsNeo #Nd #Pr #Dy #Tb #HREE #NeoPerformanceMaterials #Silmet #Narva #RareEarths #HeavyRareEarths #Dysprosium #Terbium #NdFeB #EVs #WindTurbines #CriticalMinerals #EUIndustry #SupplyChain #MagnetRecycling #EnergyTransition

🇬🇧 The UK just backed the West's most advanced rare earth magnet recycling project — and it's built on Belfast technology. Ionic Technologies (wholly owned by ASX: IXR) received a £12m UK Government DRIVE35 Offer in Principle in January 2026 to build an £85m commercial plant at Belfast Harbour — the first facility in the Western world to produce recycled, individually separated magnet rare earth oxides (REOs). Processing 1,200 tpa of end-of-life NdFeB magnets into 400 tpa of >99.5% purity Nd, Pr, Dy & Tb oxides, the plant was backed by £8.1m in prior UK grants and a 2+ year operating demonstration plant with product already delivered to LCM, VAC and Ford UK. The feasibility study showed a post-tax NPV of US$502m, IRR of 43.6% and payback of just 2.4 years. The DRIVE35 grant triggers a "Validation Cascade" — unlocking NWF equity, UKEF debt guarantees and OEM/strategic co-investment — with MD Tim Harrison targeting full commercial production by 2027. 🧲 Scrap → REO (Ionic) → Alloy (LCM) → Magnet (VAC/Ford/Bentley). That's the chain. 🇬🇧⚡ 🔬 DEEP DIVE — Why IXR's Ionic Technologies Is the Keystone of the UK's Rare Earth Independence China controls 85% of rare earth refining and 90% of magnet production. The whole car industry is in "full panic" — automakers cutting output because they can't get magnets. One company has spent 10 years building the only Western answer to this, from a lab in Belfast. 🏭 THE TECH Ionic Technologies' patented MAIL (Multi-Amide Ionic Liquid) separation technology was spun out of Queen's University Belfast in 2015 by co-founder and Director Prof. Peter Nockemann. It's a hydrometallurgical long-loop process that takes any quality end-of-life NdFeB magnet — oxidised, coated, contaminated — and extracts >99.5% purity individual REOs: Nd, Pr, Dy and Tb. TRL 8–9. 30+ months demonstrated. Product delivered to LCM, VAC & Ford UK. ✅ 💷 THE MONEY In January 2026, the UK Government issued a £12m DRIVE35 Offer in Principle for the Belfast commercial plant. This is government validation after a multi-month independent technical, commercial & strategic review. Full project metrics from the Nov 2024 Feasibility Study: 📍 Location: Queen's Island, Belfast Harbour ⚙️ Capacity: 1,200 tpa magnets → 400 tpa separated REOs 💰 Total Capex: £85m 📈 NPV (post-tax): US$502m 📊 IRR: 43.6% 💵 Net Revenue (20yr): US$2.12bn 💸 EBITDA (20yr): US$1.78bn ⏱️ Payback: 2.4 years 🎯 Target production: Late 2027 🔗 THE CHAIN Ionic Technologies doesn't operate in isolation. It's the separation engine of a fully integrated UK value chain: ♻️ EMR (UK's largest auto recycler) → supplies EOL magnets & e-waste (MoU signed May 2025) 🔬 Ionic Technologies → separates to >99.5% individual REOs 🏭 Less Common Metals (LCM) → converts REOs to NdFeB strip-cast alloy (only Western producer) 🧲 VAC / Ford / Bentley / Wrightbus → manufactures finished magnets EMR feeds the input. LCM converts the output. Together with Ionic, they form a complete, self-reinforcing, 100% ex-China UK rare earth magnet supply chain. 🇬🇧 🌍 THE BIGGER PICTURE [5/6] Belfast is just the start. MD Tim Harrison has confirmed the model is replicable anywhere in the Western world — and is already in advanced discussions on: 🇺🇸 USA — Multiple recycling plant sites under discussion; MoU signed with US Strategic Metals (Missouri); scoping study for a Tennessee REO refinery 🇧🇷 Brazil — 50/50 Viridion JV with Viridis Mining (ASX: VMM) for refinery + recycling; selected as beneficiary of Brazil's US$1.4bn strategic minerals initiative 🌍 Uganda — Makuutu Heavy Rare Earths Project (60% IXR); "the most advanced heavy rare earth project in the world with product not committed to China" — Dy, Tb, Gd, Y, Sm Three continents. One patented technology. One sovereign supply chain story. 🎯 THE INVESTMENT CASE [6/6] ✅ Only Western producer of individually separated heavy REOs from recycled magnets ✅ £8.1m in prior UK grants — technology & execution de-risked ✅ £12m DRIVE35 Offer in Principle = independent government validation ✅ DRIVE35 "Validation Cascade" → NWF equity + UKEF debt guarantees now unlocked ✅ 43.6% IRR. 2.4yr payback. US$502m NPV. ✅ China's export controls have dramatically improved Dy/Tb economics since the Nov 2024 feasibility study ✅ Belfast → US → Brazil → Uganda pipeline "Speed and tonnes. The race is on and it's now or never." — Brett Lynch, Executive Chairman $IXR 🇦🇺🇬🇧 Good Luck to all involved Further Reading Here:🔽 newsletter.co.uk/business/we-ar… Monopoly Breakers PDF Here: ionicre.com/wp-content/upl… @IONICTECH_UK @IONIC_RE @timhorizonmet @LCM_Metals @EMRGroupLimited @theapcuk @CMA_Minerals @ChrisMcDonaldMP #IonicRareEarths #IonicTechnologies #RareEarths #CriticalMinerals #Belfast #DRIVE35 #NdFeB #MagnetRecycling #CircularEconomy #EVSupplyChain #UKManufacturing #EnergyTransition #DefenceSupplyChain #ASX #IXR #China #SupplyChainResilience #NetZero #RareEarthOxides #HeavyRareEarths

"Ionic on fastest path to molecules" - @IONIC_RE Managing Director Tim Harrison has told @Paydirt_Media that a "wonderful environment" is emerging for the Company's rare earth magnet recycling technology, which will facilitate new Western rare earths supply chains $IXR #REE

🚨 New APC funding to accelerate UK clean transport CMA (UK) members funded: ⛏️ @Weardalelithium ⚡ Northern Lithium 🧲 HyProMag 🔋 Agratas 🏭 @LCM_Metals ♻️ @MkangoResources tinyurl.com/3hd89mef #CleanTransport #CriticalMinerals #EVs #UKManufacturing #APC

🇬🇧🧲 Something quietly historic just happened in UK manufacturing. In the space of 12 months, the United Kingdom has assembled both halves of a complete rare earth magnet circular economy — short-loop recycling AND long-loop chemical separation — from end-of-life EV motors right through to new production-grade sintered magnets. Two flagship government-backed projects. Four anchor companies. One sovereign supply chain. 🔗 Here's exactly what's been built and why it matters. 🧵⬇️ 1. HyProMag technology. ⚡ The Short-Loop: HyProMag & HPMS HyProMag was founded in 2018 by the Magnetic Materials Group at the University of Birmingham, backed by ~US$100 million in cumulative R&D. Their patented Hydrogen Processing of Magnet Scrap (HPMS) technology works by exposing end-of-life NdFeB magnets to hydrogen gas — the crystalline lattice absorbs hydrogen, swells, and catastrophically decrepitates into a demagnetised, flowable alloy powder, liberated directly from any device without mechanical shredding or chemical dissolution. HyProMag was co-founded in 2018 by the late Professor Emeritus Rex Harris — the originator of the hydrogen decrepitation method itself, and former Head of the Magnetic Materials Group at the University of Birmingham — alongside Professor Allan Walton (current Head of the MMG), Dr. John Speight, and David Kennedy. Their patented Hydrogen Processing of Magnet Scrap (HPMS) technology, developed over 40+ years That powder is then purified, jet-milled, blended across scrap streams to hit target grades, pressed, aligned and sintered into brand new commercial-grade magnets. REACT UK project (attach Projects & Funding infographic) 🔧 Project 1: REACT UK — Rare Earth Automotive Circular Technologies for the UK📅 Announced: April 9, 2026 — DRIVE35 'Collaborate' stream 💰 Total cost: £6.5m | Government funding: £3.2m (APC/DRIVE35) ⏱️ Duration: 3 years (2026–2029) 🏭 Consortium: 🇬🇧 HyProMag (Lead) 🇬🇧 Mkango Rare Earths UK 🇬🇧 EMR Metal Recycling (scrap collection & dismantling) 🇬🇧 Jaguar Land Rover (OEM demand validation) 🇬🇧 Less Common Metals / LCM (alloy production) 🎓 University of Birmingham (R&D partner) 🎯 Objective: Scale HPMS short-loop recycling to prove full automotive-grade NdFeB magnets can be produced from EV motor scrap in commercial volumes — validating the entire route for JLR traction motor integration. HyProMag also secured a separate DRIVE35 Feasibility award in the same announcement — one of very few organisations named across multiple DRIVE35 streams in April 2026. 2. IXRs Ionic Technologies Separation technology The Long-Loop: Ionic Technologies & MAIL Ionic Technologies (subsidiary of Ionic Rare Earths, ASX: IXR) operates a unique separation technology — Multifunctional -Amide Ionic Liquid (MAIL) chemistry — originally developed by Professor Peter Nockemann's group at Queen's University Belfast and exclusively commercialised by Ionic Technologies. Unlike conventional solvent extraction which uses hundreds of sequential mixer-settler stages with volatile, flammable kerosene-based diluents, MAIL uses task-specific ionic liquids with engineered amide ligands that exhibit 100× higher selectivity for rare earth ions. The system is non-volatile, non-flammable, fully recyclable, and can process highly variable, contaminated, mixed feedstocks — magnets, swarf, MREC, end-of-life motors — regardless of oxidation state, coatings or age. Output from the Belfast Demonstration Plant (running 24/7): ✅ Nd₂O₃, Pr₆O₁₁, Dy₂O₃, Tb₄O₇ — individually separated ✅ >99.5% purity, frequently >99.9% — OEM-grade ✅ 89–90% REE recovery rate ✅ 61% lower CO₂ vs virgin primary supply (Minviro LCA) ✅ Only Western facility producing all 4 separated magnet REOs Commercial Belfast plant (400 tpa, NPV US$502M, IRR 43.6%) is in development with a UK Government £12M Offer in Principle secured. CirculaREEconomy project (attach Technical Flow infographic) ♻️ Project 2: CirculaREEconomy (CREEM) — UK Rare Earth Magnet Supply Chain📅 Awarded: July 2025 — APC / DRIVE35 💰 Total project value: £11m ⏱️ Duration: 2025–2028 🏭 Consortium: 🇬🇧 Ionic Technologies (Lead — MAIL hydromet separation) 🇬🇧 EMR Metal Recycling (EoL EV motor collection) 🇬🇧 Less Common Metals / LCM (REO → alloy) 🚗 Ford Technologies (OEM testing) 🚗 Bentley Motors / VW Group (OEM testing) 🚌 Wrightbus (electric buses) 🏛️ British Geological Survey (resource mapping) 🎯 Objective: Build the first-of-kind UK supply chain that takes EoL EV motors all the way from:EMR scrap collection → Ionic MAIL separation → Nd/Pr/Dy/Tb oxides → LCM alloy → new magnets → Ford/Bentley/Wrightbus EVs A fully closed British circle. 🇬🇧 Why both loops together is the breakthrough 🔑 Why having BOTH routes matters — and why this is a genuine UK first Short-loop (HyProMag HPMS) and long-loop (Ionic MAIL) are not competing — they are complementary and essential: ⚡ Short-loop is fastest and most energy-efficient. When scrap compositions are close to the target grade, HPMS turns them into new magnets with minimal processing. Ideal for high-volume, consistent feedstock like HDDs or specific EV motor grades. 🔬 Long-loop is the chemistry reset. When scrap is mixed, heavily degraded, off-spec or needs upgrading (e.g. adding Dy/Tb coercivity for high-temperature defense grades), MAIL dissolves everything back to pure oxides — giving you a completely clean slate to make any grade of magnet from any scrap input. 🔗 EMR feeds both. LCM converts REOs to alloys for both. Together they form a complete, self-reinforcing UK value chain. Before 2025: the UK had zero commercial rare earth separation and zero commercial sintered NdFeB magnet production. By end 2026: both. From the same scrap. In the same country. 🇬🇧⚡ 🏭 The Missing Link: Less Common Metals (LCM) — Ellesmere Port, Cheshire....Love the Company Founded in 1992 by David Kennedy — who is also a Director of HyProMag — LCM is arguably the most strategically critical company in the entire UK rare earth chain, and the least talked about. LCM is the only commercial producer of rare earth metals and alloys outside China and its Southeast Asian affiliates. Full stop. No LCM = no Western magnet supply chain. The REOs that Ionic Technologies separates and the powders that HyProMag produces both flow through LCM's Ellesmere Port facility to become the precise strip-cast alloys that magnet manufacturers — VAC, JLR, Ford, Bentley — need. And LCM just achieved a 15–20% energy efficiency improvement in its molten salt electrolysis cell for HRE metals — expanding from 2 cells to 6, pushing capacity from 55 tpa to 330 tpa in the UK alone. Scrap → REO (Ionic) → metal → alloy (LCM) → magnet (VAC/OEM). That's the chain. 🇬🇧⚡ lesscommonmetals.com/lcms-technical… 🏗️ EMR — The Feedstock Engine of the Entire UK Chain European Metal Recycling (EMR) is the UK's largest automotive recycler and operates across 150+ locations globally. But its role in the UK rare earth chain goes far deeper than simple metal collection. EMR feeds both loops: 🔵 Long-loop → MoU signed May 2025 to supply end-of-life magnets and e-waste to Ionic Technologies in Belfast for REO separation 🟢 Short-loop → Long-running partnership with HyProMag dating back to the completed REAP project (2021), now active under Re-RE Wind and REACT UK, providing NdFeB magnet scrap directly into the HPMS reactor ⚡ Wind → Leading partner in Re-RE Wind — UK's first circular supply chain for offshore wind turbine rare earth magnets, co-funded by Innovate UK 🚗 CREEM (DRIVE35) → Running a brand-new pilot line at EMR Birmingham to efficiently liberate RE magnets from EV motors — safeguarding both the rare earth content and the high-grade steel casing Recycling these magnets cuts carbon by ~60% vs virgin production — Ionic Technologies' own verified figure. No feedstock, no chain. EMR is the start of every loop. 🇬🇧 uk.emrgroup.com Recycled Rare Earth Magnets: Transforming Technology Supply Chains⏬ discoveryalert.com.au/recycled-rare-… @LCM_Metals @EMRGroupLimited @theapcuk @IONIC_RE @IONICTECH_UK @MkangoResources @CMA_Minerals @PMRMag @RE_Exchanges @DiscoveryAlert @IEA @ChrisMcDonaldMP #RareEarths #CriticalMinerals #NdFeB #MagnetRecycling #DRIVE35 #CircularEconomy #HyProMag #IonicTechnologies #HPMS #MAIL #EVSupplyChain #SovereignSupplyChain #CREEM #REACTUK #UKManufacturing #CriticalRawMaterials #NationalSecurity #CleanEnergy #WindEnergy #DefenseSupplyChain #LCM #EMR #MineToMagnet #GreenTransition #AdvancedPropulsionCentre