Envipro Holdings, a major metals recycling company based in Japan, and HyProMag located in the UK have begun a collaboration on the recycling of rare earth magnets that will involve operations of both companies in Japan and Europe. The head of Mkango Resources, HyProMag’s parent company, calls it the first step in the roll-out of its recycling technology in Asia.
A memorandum of understanding announced June 17, pledges the companies to work together on:
- Joint marketing of HyProMag recycling technology solutions and recycled magnets in Japan
- Recycling trials to be carried out in UK and Japan on NdFeB scrap supplied by Envipro
- Analysis of the NdFeB scrap supply market and offtake opportunities in Japan
- Collaboration on potential HyProMag recycling technology development in Japan
Envipro was established in 1950 and is a leading recycling and materials trading company, listed on Tokyo Stock Exchange and based in Shizuoka, with 2023 sales of over US$300 million, handling scrap volumes of 625,000 tons, and a global footprint including the UK and Netherlands. For Mkango and HyProMag, the deal syncs with continuing efforts to expand their interests in rare earth magnet recycling globally through joint ventures, collaboration, marketing and offtake agreements.
Will Dawes, Chief Executive of Mkango stated: “This is the first step in the roll out of HyProMag’s rare earth magnet recycling technology into Japan and other Asian markets, and we are very excited to work with Envipro,” said Will Dawes, CEO of Mkango. “We see Japan as a major growth opportunity for Mkango and HyProMag, given its substantial and longstanding rare earth market presence and strategic alignment with the development of more robust rare earth supply chains and the objectives of the Minerals Security Partnership, of which Japan is a member.”
“Japan has been at the forefront of developments in the application of sintered NdFeB magnet applications since the invention of this magnet type by Sagawa at Sumitomo Special Metals in 1983,” noted Dave Kennedy director of HyProMag. “Very little end of life recycling has been achieved in the intervening years and we are pleased to be working with Envipro to unlock the potential for recovering critical resources in Japan.”
“Envipro is a global-scale recycling company, developing state-of-the-art-technologies and know-how in the recycling sector,” added Shinobu Tachibana, Envipro Holdings Inc. NEWSCON INC. UK representative. “Our goal is to help transform the societies from a linear economy to a circular model. Japan has many industries that use NdFeB magnets in their products, however, recycling of NdFeB magnets has been very limited to date because conventional recycling processes for NdFeB magnets, being de-magnetising, shredding, sorting, and wet metal smelting, are very costly, inefficient and environmentally unfriendly. HPMS is a revolutionary technology for both recycling and re-manufacturing of NdFeB magnets, which provides solutions for these cost and efficiency challenges.”
HyProMag is commercializing Hydrogen Processing of Magnet Scrap recycling technology in the UK, Germany and US. Developed at the University of Birmingham, HPMS provides a technique for liberating magnets from end-of-life scrap streams compared to most other techniques which focus on chemical processes.
Mkango, headquartered in Vancouver, Canada, is a publicly held company that aims to become a market leader in the production of recycled rare earth magnets, alloys and oxides, through its holdings in Maginito Ltd. which owns HyProMag and HyProMag GmbH, focused on short loop rare earth magnet recycling in the UK and Germany and a 100 per cent interest in Mkango Rare Earths UK Ltd which is focused on long loop rare earth magnet recycling in the UK via a chemical route. Mkango also is involved in the development of rare earths minerals and separation ventures in Africa and Poland.
For more info, see www.envipro.jp, www.mkango.ca, www.hypromag.com.
