Rare Earth Processor Ranking Discussion

[John]

https://rareearthexchanges.com/news...lly-making-magnet-grade-oxides-outside-china/

So REEx has done analysis of all the companies that are currently processing RE to oxide and those who are planning to process to oxide. At this stage it will not be publically released yet. But watch this space. It is interesting reading.

Some points to note:
- Processing is actually the bottleneck in rare earth supply chain.
- There are large issues with radiation byproducts.
- There are very few ex-China processors globally
- There is lots of hype around who is going to be able to scale up to process to an oxide (ie lots of plans...but not much of the actual work/permitting/flowsheet/FEED work done)

Happy to discuss further here

 

[Theeaglehaslanded]

Hi John.

Congrats on your new forum and website. I hope your following grows along with the sector in the coming years.

What is your opinion on ASM and it's KMP (Korean Metals Plant) and purposed AMP (American Metals Plant).

The CEO has touted their proprietary Heavy RE technology with the first commercial sale of 2Kg recently to VAC, along with ongoing NdPr alloy sales.

Apparently the tech they use is cleaner, greener, with lower energy consumption also.

Are these guys onto something here, or are the a very small fish in a very big sea?

If they secure US DOD grant funding for the AMP, which is apparently a shoe in, these guys will be in the middle of a purposed new manufacturing hub in the US. They've been reviewing sites and locations for the AMP recently, which are located close to some of their contracted associates like USARE. Seems very promising, keen on any insights you might have ?

There's also the Dubbo project, which I'll raise on the other threads.


Thanks

 

[John]

ASM is interesting but still a small player. The Korean Metals Plant has shown proof-of-concept with small alloy sales, and their cleaner/lower-energy metallisation tech could appeal to Western customers if it scales. The bigger swing is the proposed US plant – if DoD funding lands, it would place ASM inside a new US rare earth hub, which is strategically huge. Right now though, volumes are tiny and scale-up risk is real.

Dubbo is the long-term anchor, but for now they’re more a high-potential niche story than a sector heavyweight.

Interesting how much ASM is promoting their talks in the USA. I know of lots of other Australian companies in the USA talking to similar USA parties and they don't say anything.

Interesting times!

Who will be the winners and losers? I think the next 2-3 months will give us a pretty good indication of what will happen.

 

[Walshmon]

https://rareearthexchanges.com/news...lly-making-magnet-grade-oxides-outside-china/

So REEx has done analysis of all the companies that are currently processing RE to oxide and those who are planning to process to oxide. At this stage it will not be publically released yet. But watch this space. It is interesting reading.

Some points to note:
- Processing is actually the bottleneck in rare earth supply chain.
- There are large issues with radiation byproducts.
- There are very few ex-China processors globally
- There is lots of hype around who is going to be able to scale up to process to an oxide (ie lots of plans...but not much of the actual work/permitting/flowsheet/FEED work done)

Happy to discuss further here

Great summary and accurate IMHO. From an investment standpoint, there are few large liquid names for institutional asset managers to own. With the western REE industry in the early innings, there will be multiple big winners and some losers based on the future ebbs & flows of technology, capital, geopolitics, and quality of execution. I am not a trader of these names, instead have adopted a long-term buy & hold strategy on a "basket" of names for the next 5+ years. The basket consists: 1) the early leaders (ala Gina Reinhardt) MP & Lynas, 2) promising public companies AREC, USAR, NEO, UURAF, UUUU, etc., and 3) keep an eye on private processing/refining companies & magnet makers that may issue PIPE equity or decide to IPO (Noveon, eVAC Magnetics, Vulcan Elements, Phoenix Tailings, Nth Cycle, Ionic Rare Earths, Cyclic Materials, etc.). You may also want to add a 4th category into the mix---REE mining companies Rare Elements Resources (US: REEMF), American Rare Earths (ASX: ARR, OTCQX: ARRNF), Arafura (ASX: ARU), Energy Transition Metals (ASX: ETM), etc. I chose to gain REE resource development exposure through several of the vertically integrated names above (MP, Lynas, USAR, NEO) instead of pure mining names.

 

[John]

Yeah interesting @Walshmon

The vertical integration is super important. At REEx we have been doing some amazing work to show these supply chains and who is linked to who and down to how much NdPr etc. This information is super hard to come by. But with some backward data engineering we have a pretty good idea of where it all flows downstream. We are not sure yet if we will release this info. We have some amazing graphics to show it. We are also mapping all the potential supply chains. But with most of it not locked in....it is a moving feast.

Some of the names you have mentioned above are really good at marketing. But in fact don't add much to the supply chain. They might in the future. But currently alot of these guys are all sitting on MOUs etc. At best.

I also 100% agree....lots of these guys could IPO and do very very well out of it.

In all of the above....i'm still not seeing much ex-China HREE.....maybe if ASX: NTU or BRE can get up. But they are 5-10 years away....so how will USA lock in the HREE? MP produce only tiny amounts. LYC are very quiet on how much they will produce....but i'm guessing not much....


Hey one thing we just realised....our actual processor ranking sheet has not been published. It will be soon.

Here is a screen shot of part of my spreadsheet:

 

[Walshmon]

John - thanks for this list & great work!

Like a number of industries, public (& private) company "hype" is commonplace and requires some time to sort through and decipher. I have tried to follow the First-of-a-Kind (FOAK) technology validation process on the TRL scale.

If it is assumed that for REE FOAK separation/refining demonstrations to qualify as TRL-7, they are ~1/10th of the intended commercial throughput (~1-5 tpd of feed) running continuously in an operational setting for 2-3+ months with full integration, PI/QA, and operating procedures. That level of data would be incredibly valuable for investors!

 

[John]

@Walshmon getting this type of data is incredibly hard. Lots of the Jnr's don't want to show how far they have to go in the process. We have spent alot of time to bring together all this data. And over time it will get better and better. But our rankings attempt to do what you describe above. I would say that our rankings right now get it correct about 85% of the time. And in about 6 months from now...we should be up to about 95% accuracy. So it is a work in progress. For now, it is a great starting point for Retail investors....they can look at the Top 20 or so companies, and focus their research on them. Which saves alot of time.

And as i said above, we are working on some other pretty cool stuff. Hopefully I can share soon.

 

[NdPrDyTbHo]

Hi John great work as usual, I just wanted to update Ionic Rare Earths, IXRs, Ionic Technologies

1. The REEx table incorrectly classifies most companies as using "Solvent Extraction (SX)" technology. Ionic Technologies (ASX: IXR) uses a completely different and innovative technology:

Multifunctional Amide Ionic Liquids (MAIL) Technology​

• NOT Solvent Extraction (SX)
• Uses Multifunctional Amide Ionic Liquids for rare earth separation
• Patented ligand engineering technology developed at Queens University Belfast
• Two orders of magnitude higher selectivity than conventional methods.

Multifunctional Amide Ionic Liquids (MAIL) Technology Overview:​

1. Ionic Liquids as Solvents: MAIL uses ionic liquids—salts in the liquid state at near ambient temperatures—that serve as non-volatile, highly tunable solvents for rare earth metal separation. Unlike traditional SX solvents, these ionic liquids can be engineered to possess specific chemical functionalities that enhance selectivity and efficiency for rare earth ions.

2. Amide Functional Groups: The ionic liquids used by Ionic Technologies are functionalized with amide groups, which act as ligands that bind selectively to specific rare earth ions. This selective binding enhances separation efficacy between light rare earth elements (LREE) and heavy rare earth elements (HREE).

3. Ligand Engineering: Through advanced ligand engineering, the chemical structure of the amide ionic liquids is optimized to improve RE selectivity, stability, and recyclability. This involves designing molecules that target specific rare earth ions such as neodymium, praseodymium (LREE), dysprosium, and terbium (HREE) with high binding strength and selectivity.

4. Higher Selectivity and Sustainability: MAIL technology achieves separation selectivity up to two orders of magnitude higher than conventional SX processes. This improved selectivity also reduces chemical waste and reagent consumption, making the process more sustainable and environmentally friendly.

5. Patented and Developed at Queen’s University Belfast: The MAIL technology is patented and was developed with significant scientific input from Queen’s University Belfast. The company has commercialized this technology for magnet rare earth recycling and separation.





First-of-its-kind technology for individual magnet rare earth recycling.

Operational Status: FULLY OPERATIONAL Since January 2024​

Current Production Capacity, ​

• Demonstration Plant: 10 tonnes per annum (tpa) capacity - OPERATIONAL since January 2024
• 24/7 continuous operation since January 1, 2024

Currently producing high-purity separated REOs:

• LREE: NdPr oxide (Didymium) at >99.8% purity
• HREE: Dy₂O₃ (Dysprosium oxide) at >99.8% purity
• HREE: Tb₄O₇ (Terbium oxide) at >99.5% purity

Scaling to Commercial Production​

• Commercial plant capacity: 400tpa (40-fold increase from demo plant)

Planned production breakdown:

• 350 tpa LREE (NdPr oxide)
• 37 tpa Dysprosium oxide
• 13 tpa Terbium oxide
• Construction timeline: Completion by late 2026
• First production: Early 2027

https://wcsecure.weblink.com.au/pdf/IXR/02881658.pdf

Ionic Technologies represents a paradigm shift in rare earth processing technology and should be prominently featured in any comprehensive ranking of global rare earth processors. The company's operational demonstration plant, innovative MAIL technology, strong government backing, and clear path to commercial scale make it a critical player that the REEx table has completely overlooked.

This omission significantly undermines the credibility of the REEx rankings, particularly given Ionic Technologies' unique position as the only Western facility currently producing separated magnet rare earth oxides at commercial purity levels.

This comprehensive comparison demonstrates that MAIL technology represents a fundamental advancement beyond conventional solvent extraction, offering superior selectivity, sustainability, and economic benefits for rare earth processing, Also can used on MIXED RARE EARTH CARBONATES and other RARE EARTH MINING CONCENTRATES.

 

[John]

Thanks @NdPrDyTbHo

We are working on an update for all of our rankings. So thanks for that info. And if you have any other info be sure to let me know. We are also working on something else...which will be amazing. I have shown a beta version to some RE heavy weights in the industry...and they are blown away. Big things coming soon to REEx.

 

[drphilipjamesmurray@gmail]

Hi John,

I just wanted to say a very big thank you to you and the team for this absolutely incredible resource, both the rankings and the site. It is an absolutely amazing site and I have learnt a tonne already and feel I have yet to even scratch the surface. I attest to being in the retail camp but am finding my feet with all this REE stuff which is fascinating - an odd thing to say when I ignored my geologist Dad's musings over rock formations during many family holidays!

Thank you again, this information is amazing and I look forward to subscribing in the future so as to contribute something back as a way of saying thanks.