IonicRE Rare Earth Oxide Supply to AML Advances US Defence Magnet Chain

Ionic Rare Earth

IonicRE rare earth oxide supply to Advanced Magnet Lab marks a small but strategic step in building a non-China supply route for defence-grade permanent magnets. The Australian rare earths miner, refiner and recycler has started shipping high-purity rare earth oxides from its Belfast recycling facility to the US magnet producer.

IonicRE rare earth oxide supply currently involves kilogram-scale volumes of neodymium, praseodymium and dysprosium oxides. The material has 99.5-99.9% purity and will be used by AML to produce high-grade sintered neodymium-iron-boron magnets for US defence customers.

IonicRE rare earth oxide supply is important because magnet qualification starts with small, tightly controlled shipments. These early volumes help validate chemistry, process compatibility and performance before larger commercial deliveries begin.

The companies are already discussing a second sale of neodymium and dysprosium. They have also signed a non-binding memorandum of understanding for longer-term cooperation, with future commercial volumes likely to reach tonnes in 2027.

Belfast Recycling Turns Magnet Scrap Into Strategic Feedstock

IonicRE’s Belfast facility currently has 10 t/yr of rare earth recycling capacity. While modest, it gives western magnet producers a practical source of recycled rare earth oxides from end-of-life and industrial magnet scrap.

The supply chain includes used NdFeB magnet feedstock from German manufacturer Vacuumschmelze and scrap handler European Metal Recycling. IonicRE also has offtake relationships with automotive companies including Ford, Bentley and Wrightbus.

This structure matters because rare earth recycling can shorten supply chains and improve traceability. It also reduces dependence on newly mined material at a time when rare earth separation and magnet production remain highly concentrated in China.

The company’s planned additional Belfast facility received £12mn from the UK government in January. That plant is expected to produce 400 t/yr of light rare earths neodymium-praseodymium, as well as heavy rare earths dysprosium and terbium, by the first half of 2028.

Dysprosium is particularly important for defence magnets because it helps maintain magnetic performance under heat and stress. That makes recycled heavy rare earth recovery strategically valuable, even at relatively small volumes.

AML Link Connects Recycling to Defence Magnet Production

AML will use IonicRE’s oxides to produce high-grade sintered NdFeB magnets for defence applications. This connects recycled rare earth feedstock directly to one of the most sensitive parts of the US critical minerals supply chain.

The US is trying to secure rare earth permanent magnet supply outside China after Beijing imposed export controls on rare earth permanent magnets in April 2025. China controls about 90% of the supply chain, leaving US defence and industrial users exposed to licensing risk.

IonicRE brings a wider rare earth platform to the partnership. The company owns 60% of Uganda’s Makuutu rare earth project, holds a 50% stake in a Brazilian rare earth refining joint venture with Viridis, and has signed an MoU with US Strategic Metals for a Missouri recycling facility.

That portfolio gives IonicRE several possible feedstock and processing routes. But the AML shipment is important because it moves from strategy into physical supply.

The key challenge now is scale. Kilogram shipments can support qualification, but defence and industrial magnet markets will need repeatable tonne-scale supply, consistent purity and reliable delivery.

If IonicRE and AML can move from pilot volumes to commercial supply, the partnership could become a useful building block in the US rare earth magnet chain. It would also show how recycling can complement mining and refining in reducing China exposure.

The Metalnomist Commentary

This shipment is small in volume but large in strategic meaning. Non-China rare earth supply chains will be built through qualification steps like this, where recycled oxides prove they can become defence-grade magnets.