NioCorp tests rare earth permanent magnet recycling

NioCorp Developments (NASDAQ: NB) of Colorado has completed successful testing of its proposed hydrometallurgical process to recycle post-consumer permanent rare earth magnets. The bench-scale L3 tests were conducted at the company’s demonstration plant in Trois-Rivieres, Que.

The tests included demagnetization and grinding of the magnets ahead of extracting the contained rate earth elements (REE). This is the same process that NioCorp will use in processing and extracting critical minerals from its Elk Creek project in Nebraska.

Elk Creek is designed to use a whole ore leach process to produce its products, which include niobium, scandium, titanium and, potentially, magnetic rare earth oxides. The project mineral resource contains the largest indicated terbium resource in the U.S., as well as the second largest indicated neodymium-praseodymium and dysprosium resources in the U.S.

 “Adding these recycling capabilities promises to dramatically reduce the net CO₂ emissions profile of the manufacturing many different consumer and defense technologies, but also can deliver powerful benefits from circular economics to NioCorp’s customers and to entire supply chains,” said NioCorp CEO and chair Mark A. Smith. “It also has the potential to help boost the domestic production of heavy rare earths in the U.S.”

With Elk Creek, the company plans to become a major U.S. miner and producer of niobium and scandium.

More information about Elk Creek is contained in the corporate presentation at www.NioCorp.com.