Mkango JV recycling platform commissions South Carolina system

(Sharecast News) - Mkango Resources said in an update on Monday that its joint venture recycling platform had commissioned a hard disk drive magnet pre-processing system in South Carolina, marking a step forward in building a U.S. rare earth magnet recycling supply chain.

The AIM-traded group said the Inserma magnet separation system had been installed at a facility in Williston operated by Intelligent Lifecycle Solutions as part of the development of the HyProMag USA platform.

It said the system separates magnet assemblies from end-of-life hard disk drives in roughly three seconds per unit.

Two automated skid-mounted units had been deployed at the site, giving the facility a combined processing capacity of more than 60,000 drives per week.

Mkango said the commissioning represented the first stage of feedstock preparation for HyProMag USA's broader 'hub-and-spoke' recycling model.

Under the structure, magnet-bearing materials were recovered and pre-processed at regional facilities before being supplied to a planned rare earth magnet recycling and manufacturing hub in Dallas-Fort Worth, Texas.

The Williston site was expected to support the development of a domestic supply chain for neodymium-iron-boron magnets used in applications including electric vehicles, robotics, defence systems and data-centre infrastructure.

HyProMag USA is owned 50-50 by CoTec and HyProMag Limited, the latter held by Maginito Limited, which is 79.4% owned by Mkango.

Mkango said the South Carolina facility would prepare recovered magnet materials for recycling using HyProMag's hydrogen processing of magnet scrap technology at the planned Texas hub.

The company added that the broader US platform was expected to create around 90 to 100 skilled jobs as additional facilities were developed.

At 1258 GMT, shares in Mkango Resources were down 0.61% at 48.5p.

Reporting by Josh White for Sharecast.com.

See latest RNS on Investegate

Mkango Resources