Iondrive Commissions Maiden North American IONSolv Rare Earth Campaign

Iondrive (ASX: ION) has commissioned its first five-tonne IONSolv production campaign in North America, targeting approximately 1.4t of mixed rare earth oxide (MREO) during the fourth quarter of 2026.

The campaign will process end-of-life permanent magnets through an established third-party facility to produce bulk samples for downstream customer qualification and refining programs.

The work is intended to bridge independently validated laboratory results with development of Iondrive’s proposed first US commercial module, which is planned to process about 2,000t of permanent magnet feedstock annually.

This follows independently reported validation using commercial US magnet feedstock that achieved unaudited single-pass leach efficiencies of about 96.5% for neodymium, 96.5% for praseodymium, and 93.5% for dysprosium.

Iondrive is progressing discussions with potential customers about supplying MREO for qualification, subject to agreed specifications, pricing and final commercial terms, while separate talks with potential feedstock suppliers are examining future supply arrangements.

Tonne-Scale Production Campaign

Iondrive has engaged Kingston Process Metallurgy to process approximately five tonnes of permanent magnet feedstock using IONSolv, with ProProcess Engineering overseeing and facilitating the campaign.

Representative neodymium-iron-boron (NdFeB) magnet assays indicate rare earth oxide content of about 30%, while a targeted overall flowsheet recovery of approximately 95% would yield the planned 1.4t of MREO.

Final production will depend on confirmation of the feedstock assay, achieved recoveries, and final product specification, with the 95% target to be tested during the campaign rather than drawn from earlier single-pass leach efficiencies.

The program, which has an agreed budget of less than US$1 million, will be the largest IONSolv rare earth production campaign completed to date and its first tonne-scale MREO parcel for downstream qualification.

Commercial Module Taking Shape

Iondrive expects results from the campaign to inform product specifications, downstream processing requirements, mass-balance data, and engineering definition for the proposed first US commercial module.

“By using existing North American infrastructure, we can undertake a commercial-scale batch campaign and provide product to potential customers for qualification without first committing capital to a dedicated facility,” chief executive officer Grant Caffery said.

“It is a practical and capital-light step towards disciplined commercial execution.”

The company plans to complete feedstock selection, acquisition and assay before processing the five-tonne parcel, independently analysing the resulting MREO and supplying material to customer qualification programs.

Continuous commercial operations remain subject to engineering studies, site selection, permitting, funding, board approval, and a final investment decision, with construction and commissioning to follow.