Viridion JV signs MOU to secure rare earth magnet supply chain in Brazil

Viridion, the joint venture between Australia’s Ionic Rare Earths (ASX: IXR) and Viridis Mining and Minerals (ASX: VMM), has signed a memorandum of understanding with the SENAI FIEMG Innovation and Technology Centre of Minas Gerais, Brazil, owner and operator of Lab Fab, the first rare earth magnet laboratory in South America.

The agreement establishes a basis for cooperation between Viridion and SENAI Regional Department, with a view to jointly develop and produce rare earth magnets at Lab Fab.

The partnership, Ionic said, represents a significant step towards creating a secure Brazilian magnet supply chain as it strategically positions Viridion to become the first Brazilian producer of refined rare earth oxides (REO), using either a mixed rare earth carbonate (MREC) source or by recycling spent magnets through proprietary technology developed by Ionic Technologies, its UK-based subsidiary.

“This latest agreement … help[s] to unlock magnet recycling’s significant role in the development of initial REE supply chains in new markets such as Brazil,” Ionic Rare Earths’ managing director Tim Harrison said in a news release.

“The production of magnet REOs within Brazil will enable the ramp up of magnet production capability at CIT SENAI’s Lab Fab facility, which is targeting a ramp up in NdFeB production to 100 tonnes per annum by the end of 2026.”

As part of the initiative, Viridion will begin scoping studies for both the REO refinery and magnet recycling facilities in January 2025, following the completion of MREC production from Viridis’ Southern concessions at Colossus.

In January, Ionic Rare Earths was provisionally granted a mining licence for its Makuutu project in Uganda, marking the first large-scale mining licence to be awarded in the African nation.