Mkango Resources Ltd. (AIM/TSX-V: MKA) (the "Company" or "Mkango")
is pleased to announce that HyProMag Limited (“HyProMag”) and
partners, European Metal Recycling Limited (“EMR”) and University
of Birmingham (“UoB”) have been awarded a grant from the Industrial
Strategy Challenge Fund, delivered by UK Research and Innovation
(“UKRI”), for a new project entitled “Rare-Earth Extraction from
Audio Products” (“REAP” or the “Project”).
REAP will investigate ways of recycling rare
earth magnets from speakers used in automotive and consumer
electronics applications, which account for approximately 20% of
the current market for rare earth magnets, according to Adamas
Intelligence, and therefore represent a significant opportunity for
rare earth magnet recycling.
Mkango’s subsidiary, Maginito Limited
(“Maginito”), holds a 25% equity interest in HyProMag, with an
option to increase its interest up to 49%.
William Dawes, Chief Executive of Mkango
stated: “Rare earth magnet recycling from end-of-life
components represents a significant market opportunity and will
become an increasingly important part of the rare earth supply
chain in the UK, Europe and elsewhere. The REAP project complements
the RaRE project (Rare Earth Recycling for E-Machines) announced
earlier in the year, and further cements HyProMag’s and University
of Birmingham’s positions as leaders in the field. Mkango is
uniquely positioned in the rare earths supply chain, developing
sustainable solutions for the supply of rare earth carbonate, NdPr
oxide, NdFeB alloys and magnets, underpinned by the strategic
partnership with HyProMag and sustainable development of the Songwe
Hill rare earths project in Malawi, for which a feasibility study
is underway.”
Nick Mann, Operations General Manager
of HyProMag
stated: “With demand for rare earth magnets
accelerating, it is imperative that we find viable economic
solutions to reclaim end of life magnets that are currently
lost. Current estimates suggest that the recycling rate of
rare earth magnets from end of life products stands at below
5%. The REAP project is focused on one of the biggest
potential sources of those magnets, namely loudspeakers. Innovative
processes developed to overcome the challenges around extracting
magnets from assemblies are integral to the REAP project, and we
are very pleased to be working with EMR and the University of
Birmingham to further optimise these processes for audio
products.”
Fundamental to the REAP Project is a patented
process for extracting and demagnetising neodymium iron boron
(“NdFeB”) alloy powders from magnets embedded in scrap and
redundant equipment named HPMS (Hydrogen Processing of Magnet
Scrap), originally developed within the Magnetic Materials Group at
the University of Birmingham and subsequently licenced to
HyProMag.
The other Project partner, EMR, is a global
leader in metal recycling, operating at 150 locations around the
world. EMR will pre-process automotive and flat screen TV
loudspeaker scrap to provide a feed of scrap components containing
NdFeB magnets to HyProMag. HyProMag will use the HPMS process in
conjunction with the University of Birmingham to extract the
magnets as a demagnetised alloy powder, which can be used in the
remanufacture of magnets. The short loop recycling processes which
are being developed by HyProMag will have a significant
environmental benefit compared to primary production of
magnets.
The total budget for REAP is £256,144, of which
£174,744 will be funded by UKRI through the Driving the Electric
Revolution challenge, part of the Industrial Strategy Challenge
Fund, with the balance funded by the Project partners. HyProMag’s
contribution will be fully funded from the £300,000 investment made
by Maginito in January 2020.
Maginito is 75.5% owned by Mkango, which is
completing a Feasibility Study for the Songwe Hill rare earths
project in Malawi, and 24.5% owned by Talaxis Limited (“Talaxis”),
a wholly-owned subsidiary of Noble Group Holdings Limited
(“Noble”), which is focused on investment in and development of
technology metal opportunities.
Maginito has the first right to supply primary
production from Songwe Hill, if required, for blending with
recycled production from HyProMag, as well as product offtake and
marketing rights.
About
HyProMag
The Magnetic Materials Group within the School
of Metallurgy and Materials at the University of Birmingham has
been active in the field of rare earth alloys and processing of
permanent magnets using hydrogen for over 40 years. Originated by
Professor Rex Harris, the hydrogen decrepitation method, which is
used to reduce NdFeB alloys to a powder, is now ubiquitously
employed in worldwide magnet processing.
In a further development, the MMG patented a
process for extracting and demagnetising NdFeB powders from magnets
embedded in redundant equipment using hydrogen in a process called
HPMS (Hydrogen Processing of Magnet Scrap). This patent and related
intellectual property is at the core of HyProMag’s business. The
MMG continues to develop new research and development
opportunities, cooperates widely in Europe, including a major EU
project, SusMagPro, which is also focused on recycling of magnets.
The directors of HyProMag all provide their expertise to the MMG
and there is potential for HyProMag to gain possible future access
to new intellectual property.
HyProMag is also a partner in the Innovate UK
grant funded project, “Rare-Earth Recycling for E-Machines”
(“RaRE”) together with University of Birmingham, Advanced Electric
Machines Research Limited, Bentley Motors Limited, Intelligent
Lifecycle Solutions Limited and Unipart Powertrain Applications
Limited.
RaRE will for the first time establish an end to
end supply chain to incorporate recycled rare earth magnets into
electric vehicles, whereby recycled magnets will be built into an
ancillary electric motor to ultimately support the development of a
commercial ancillary motor suite.
HyProMag’s strategy is to establish a recycling
facility for NdFeB magnets at Tyseley in Birmingham to provide a
sustainable solution for the supply of NdFeB magnets and alloy
powders for a wide range of markets including, for example,
automotive and electronics. A number of product options are being
evaluated including hydrogen decrepitated (HD) demagnetised powders
suitable for magnet producers, alloy ingot remelted from HD powders
suitable for alloy feed or magnet production, anisotropic alloy
powders (HDDR) for bonded magnets and sintered NdFeB magnets as
required by the RaRE project for automotive applications.
The founding directors of HyProMag, comprising
Professor Emeritus Rex Harris, former Head of the MMG, Professor
Allan Walton, current Head of the MMG, and two Honorary Fellows, Dr
John Speight and Mr David Kennedy, are leading world experts in the
field of rare earth magnetic materials, alloys and hydrogen
technology, and have significant industry experience. Following the
investment by Maginito, HyProMag appointed William Dawes, a
Director of Maginito and Chief Executive Officer of Mkango, to the
Board of HyProMag.
For more information, please visit
https://hypromag.com/
About
Mkango
Mkango's primary business is exploration for
rare earth elements and associated minerals in the Republic of
Malawi, a country whose hospitable people have earned it a
reputation as “the warm heart of Africa”. The Company holds
interests in four exclusive prospecting licenses in Malawi: the
Phalombe licence, the Thambani licence, the Chimimbe Hill licence
and the Mchinji licence.
The main exploration target in the 51% held
Phalombe licence is the Songwe Hill rare earths deposit. This
features carbonatite-hosted rare earth mineralisation and was
subject to previous exploration in the late 1980s. Mkango completed
an updated Pre-Feasibility Study for the project in November 2015
and a Feasibility Study is currently underway, the initial phases
of which included a 10,900 metre drilling programme and an updated
mineral resource estimate, announced in February 2019. In March
2019, the Company announced receipt of a £7 million (C$12.3
million) investment from Talaxis to fund completion of the
Feasibility Study. Following completion of the Feasibility Study,
Talaxis has an option to acquire a further 26% interest in Songwe
by arranging financing for project development including funding
the equity component thereof.
The main exploration targets in Mkango’s
remaining three 100% held licences are, in the Thambani licence,
uranium, niobium, tantalum and zircon, in the Chimimbe Hill
licence, nickel and cobalt, and in the Mchinji licence, rutile,
nickel, cobalt, base metals and graphite. Mkango recently announced
commencement of an extensive exploration program following a new
rutile discovery within the Mchinji licence.
Mkango also holds a 75.5% interest in Maginito
(www.maginito.com) with the balance owned by Talaxis. Maginito was
established by Mkango and Talaxis to pursue downstream green
technology opportunities in the rare earths supply chain,
encompassing neodymium (NdFeB) magnet recycling as well as
innovative rare earth alloy, magnet and separation
technologies.
Maginito’s strategy is
underpinned by offtake rights for sustainably sourced primary and
secondary raw materials, and geared to accelerating growth in the
electric vehicle sector, wind power generation and other industries
driven by decarbonisation of the economy.
For more information, please visit
www.mkango.ca.
About
Talaxis
Founded in 2016, Talaxis is a wholly-owned
subsidiary of Noble Group Holdings Limited and invests in and
develops projects that are related to technology metals, with a
special focus on rare earth elements. Talaxis focuses on battery
and electric vehicle materials such as nickel, lithium, graphite
and vanadium. Talaxis has supply chain partners in the upstream and
midstream segments, and also focuses on research and development
solutions for industrial consumers in the downstream segment.
Talaxis prioritises sustainable ventures with a strong emphasis on
corporate social responsibility. These include projects that
contribute to the decarbonisation of the economy and that are
aligned with the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals.
Market Abuse Regulation (MAR)
Disclosure
Certain information contained in this
announcement may have been deemed inside information for the
purposes of Article 7 of Regulation (EU) No 596/2014 until the
release of this announcement.
Cautionary Note Regarding
Forward-Looking Statements
This news release contains forward-looking
statements (within the meaning of that term under applicable
securities laws) with respect to Mkango, its business and the
Project. Generally, forward looking statements can be identified by
the use of words such as “plans”, “expects” or “is expected”,
“scheduled”, “estimates” “intends”, “anticipates”, “believes”, or
variations of such words and phrases, or statements that certain
actions, events or results “can”, “may”, “could”, “would”,
“should”, “might” or “will”, occur or be achieved, or the negative
connotations thereof. Forward looking statements in this news
release include statements with respect to the global market for
rare earth metals the Company is exploring for, completion of the
feasibility study for Songwe, investments by Maginito in Hypromag
contemplated in the agreement between Maginito and HyProMag and of
the plans and results with respect to the Project, as well as plans
for Tyseley and first commercial sales from Tyseley. Readers are
cautioned not to place undue reliance on forward-looking
statements, as there can be no assurance that the plans, intentions
or expectations upon which they are based will occur. By their
nature, forward-looking statements involve numerous assumptions,
known and unknown risks and uncertainties, both general and
specific, that contribute to the possibility that the predictions,
forecasts, projections and other forward-looking statements will
not occur, which may cause actual performance and results in future
periods to differ materially from any estimates or projections of
future performance or results expressed or implied by such
forward-looking statements. Such factors and risks include, without
limiting the foregoing, governmental action relating to COVID-19,
COVID-19 and other market effects on global demand for the metals
and associated downstream products for which Mkango is exploring,
researching and developing, the positive results of a feasibility
study on the Project and delays in obtaining financing or
governmental or stock exchange approvals. The forward-looking
statements contained in this news release are made as of the date
of this news release. Except as required by law, the Company
disclaims any intention and assumes no obligation to update or
revise any forward-looking statements, whether as a result of new
information, future events or otherwise, except as required by
applicable law. Additionally, the Company undertakes no obligation
to comment on the expectations of, or statements made by, third
parties in respect of the matters discussed above.
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For further information on Mkango, please
contact: |
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Mkango Resources Limited |
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William Dawes |
Alexander Lemon |
Chief Executive Officer |
President |
will@mkango.ca |
alex@mkango.ca |
Canada: +1 403 444 5979 |
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www.mkango.ca |
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@MkangoResources |
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Blytheweigh |
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Financial Public Relations |
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Tim Blythe |
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UK: +44 207 138 3204 |
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SP Angel Corporate Finance LLP |
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Nominated Adviser and Joint Broker |
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Jeff Keating, Caroline Rowe |
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UK: +44 20 3470 0470 |
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Alternative Resource Capital |
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Joint Broker |
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Alex Wood |
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UK: +44 20 7186 9004 |
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The TSX Venture Exchange has neither
approved nor disapproved the contents of this press release.
Neither the TSX Venture Exchange nor its Regulation Services
Provider (as that term is defined in the policies of the TSX
Venture Exchange) accepts responsibility for the adequacy or
accuracy of this release.
This press release does not constitute an offer
to sell or a solicitation of an offer to buy any equity or other
securities of the Company in the United States. The securities of
the Company will not be registered under the United States
Securities Act of 1933, as amended (the “U.S. Securities Act”) and
may not be offered or sold within the United States to, or for the
account or benefit of, U.S. persons except in certain transactions
exempt from the registration requirements of the U.S. Securities
Act.
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