Sydney, September 3 (Argus) - Australian rare earth miner, refiner and recycler Ionic Rare Earths (IonicRE) and U.S. manufacturer Strategic Metals (USSM) have signed a non-binding agreement to form a 50:50 joint venture (JV) to build a recycling facility near USSM's magnet plant in Fredericktown, Missouri.
On September 3, IonicRE said the company and USSM will split the initial $5 million in front-end engineering and design costs for the facility.
USSM will provide $95 million in capital expenditure for the neodymium-iron-boron and samarium-cobalt magnet recycling facility, while IonicRE will primarily serve as the technology provider for the joint venture. The company will grant the JV a non-exclusive license for its recycling technology, which has already been demonstrated at its 10-ton-per-year pilot plant in Belfast, Ireland.
The joint venture will also explore the recovery of heavy rare earth elements, including europium, gadolinium, holmium, erbium, ytterbium, lutetium, and yttrium.
The agreement replaces a memorandum of understanding signed by the two companies in November 2025. IonicRE said the parties expect to convert the new terms into a final agreement by the end of 2026.
The company holds several rare earth assets, including a 60% stake in the Makuutu rare earth project in Uganda, a partner in a rare earth refining joint venture with mineral developer Viridis in Brazil, and plans to build a commercial-scale 400-ton-per-year recycling facility in Belfast.
