Sovereign Metals Share Price (SVML)

Rio could form a JV with Sovereign and other parties and maintain their approx 19% shareholding to maximise off balance sheet exposure but retain lucrative operating and marketing rights to arrange more off-take agreements for quality graphite, high grade rutile and perhaps even some fancy monazite plus in this case utilise access to substantial government backed loans (Japan/USA/Malawi) to minimise their Corporate loan exposure. So do not write them off yet in this case despite their stated restructuring away from their defined core pillars. It is a wait and see for me now. Nothing is definite. DYOR.

US-based critical minerals refining and recovery company Momentum Technologies has managed to produce some of the purest rare earths ever reported at its demonstration plant in Carrollton, Texas.

This breakthrough, following the company's recent achievement of commercial-grade battery material purity from black mass refining, now makes Momentum Technologies one of the only companies in the US that can refine both rare earths and battery metals from mined ore and end-of-life materials - at commercially relevant purities.

CEO Mahesh Konduru says these milestones are a generational leap for domestic critical minerals. "Our MSX technology is achieving unmatched purity levels from multiple feedstocks and unlocking value where conventional processing can not. We are the only platform that can refine both rare earth elements and battery minerals from primary and secondary sources, which is a strategic imperative for the Western World."

The company produced 99.9% pure neodymium and praseodymium oxide from e-waste and magnet production waste, 99.5% pure dysprosium from magnet production waste and 99.5% pure yttrium from mined feedstock.

Notably, there is no commercially viable substitute for dysprosium in high-performance permanent magnets used in fighter jets, guided munitions, advanced radars, automotive drive systems and medical imaging equipment. In turn, neodymium and praseodymium is the backbone of permanent magnets powering defence systems, robotics, electric vehicles and physical AI hardware. Yttrium is used in high-performance alloys, medical imaging devices, LED lighting and next-generation defence electronics.

The US currently depends on China for more than 80% of these materials. Attaining more than 99.5% purity for heavy rare earths such as dysprosium and yttrium from diverse feedstocks used to be something only large, centralised Chinese processing operations can do.

Now, through its MSX platform, Momentum Technologies has demonstrated that this can be done using a smaller, modular system built in the US, using everything from secondary waste streams to primary mined materials.

Konduru points out that Momentum Technologies' MSX technology costs less to build and run than conventional methods, with growth possible simply by adding more modular units. MSX eliminates the need for costly, time-consuming processes that are associated with conventional processing of rare earths.

The company is working to advance a commercial-scale rare earths refining project pipeline targeting primary and secondary feedstocks, with planned capacities ranging from 100 t/y to 1 000 t/y.

Hopefully we have some monazite for them to process…

Letting the price drift down makes it much cheaper to buy...hope no-one paid more that 40p

Rio will take the full 90 days, because they can. Why play their hand early? They have nothing to lose by extending.

But Rio's recent corporate restructuring suggests they won't buyout SVML at the end of the 90 days.

It's just how it goes.

The history of other companies in similar circumstances should warn us that PIs will get shafted. Just me managing my own expectations!