Ionic Rare Earths Signs $100M US Magnet Recycling Joint Venture in Missouri
Key Takeaways
- Ionic Rare Earths USA and US Strategic Metals have signed a non-binding US$100M joint venture term sheet to construct NdFeB and SmCo magnet recycling facilities at a fully permitted 1,800-acre site near Fredericktown, Missouri.
- USSM will contribute US$95M of the total funding framework, with an initial US$5M equity contribution split equally between both parties to fund FEED completion and demonstration-scale recycling.
- Ionic Technologies International Limited (Belfast) will contribute a non-exclusive licence for its magnet recycling technology — a process already validated at demonstration scale in the UK.
- The proposed JV is directly aligned with the US-Australia Framework for Securing of Supply in Critical Minerals and Rare Earths, signed by Presidents Trump and Albanese on 21 October 2025.
- Definitive agreements are targeted for completion by end of 2026, and if the JV proceeds, Missouri becomes the fourth geography in IonicRE's integrated platform alongside Uganda, Brazil, and Belfast.
IonicRE advances US rare earth recycling with $100M joint venture term sheet
Ionic Rare Earths Limited (ASX: IXR) has signed a joint venture term sheet with Missouri-based US Strategic Metals (USSM) through its wholly owned US subsidiary, Ionic Rare Earths USA (Ionic USA), superseding the memorandum of understanding announced in November 2025. The proposed 50-50 Joint Venture aims to construct magnet recycling facilities at USSM’s fully permitted 1,800-acre site near Fredericktown, Missouri, backed by a US$100M funding framework. The term sheet is non-binding and conditional on definitive agreements, which the parties are targeting to complete by the end of 2026.
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What the proposed JV structure looks like
The funding framework comprises US$95M from USSM and a US$5M equity contribution split equally between Ionic USA and USSM. The initial US$5M equity contribution is earmarked to complete Front End Engineering Design (FEED) for the facility and to accelerate demonstration-scale magnet recycling at the Missouri site or another location agreed by the proposed JV.
Governance sits with a board of five managers, three appointed by USSM and two by Ionic USA. Ionic USA will chair the Technical Operations Committee and hold primary responsibility for the proposed JV’s technical, operational, and commercial matters, as well as feedstock procurement.
It is proposed that Ionic Technologies International Limited, IonicRE’s wholly owned Belfast subsidiary, will contribute a non-exclusive licence to the proposed JV for its magnet recycling technology. The JV would process recycled permanent neodymium-iron-boron (NdFeB) and samarium-cobalt (SmCo) magnets and magnet scrap, and is also intended to evaluate recycling of other heavy rare earth elements (REEs) including Eu, Gd, Ho, Er, Tm, Yb, Lu and Y.
Key intended benefits for IonicRE under the proposed structure include:
- Site infrastructure and US execution capability provided by USSM
- A meaningful US presence aligned with US Government critical minerals priorities
- A technical oversight role covering process optimisation, flowsheet decisions, product specifications, customer qualification and strategic supply arrangements
| Structure Element | Detail |
|---|---|
| Ownership split | 50-50 (Ionic USA / USSM) |
| Total proposed funding | US$100M |
| USSM contribution | US$95M |
| Equity split (initial) | US$5M split equally between Ionic USA and USSM |
| Site | Fully permitted 1,800-acre site near Fredericktown, Missouri |
| Technology licence provider | Ionic Technologies International Limited (Belfast) |
| Definitive agreements target | End of 2026 |
Why rare earth magnet recycling matters for investors
NdFeB and SmCo are permanent magnets, meaning they retain their magnetic properties without a continuous power source. They are critical inputs for electric vehicle motors, offshore wind turbines, defence systems, and advanced manufacturing equipment. Without a reliable supply of the rare earth elements that go into these magnets, the industries underpinning the clean energy and defence transition simply cannot scale.
The problem is that China currently dominates primary rare earth processing, leaving Western nations dependent on a single geopolitical actor for materials they regard as essential to national security. Domestic recycling offers a way to break that dependency by treating end-of-life magnets as feedstock, recovering high-purity, separated rare earth oxides (REOs) from material that already exists within Western supply chains. This is the “circular economy” model IonicRE is pursuing.
That strategic imperative has government backing. The proposed JV is directly aligned with the US-Australia Framework for Securing of Supply in the Mining and Processing of Critical Minerals and Rare Earths, signed on 21 October 2025 by US President Donald J. Trump and Australian Prime Minister Anthony Albanese. Critically, this is not unproven technology. Ionic Technologies has already demonstrated its magnet recycling process at demonstration scale in Belfast. The proposed Missouri JV is intended to commercialise that capability at industrial scale.
The Belfast operation underpinning this JV is itself part of a broader strategic magnet project that IonicRE has been advancing with UK government support, establishing the demonstration-scale credibility that USSM and other industrial partners now cite as a basis for committing capital.
Quotes and strategic context
Tim Harrison, Managing Director, IonicRE
“The proposed JV will seek to provide IonicRE with a practical and capital-efficient method of building rare earth magnet recycling capacity in the United States, the world’s biggest economy.”
“Magnet recycling is a fast and low-cost pathway to developing a secure, sovereign and sustainable rare earths supply chain. It is intended that the proposed JV will deliver on the capability already demonstrated at demonstration scale at Ionic Technologies in the UK to deliver a resilient supply of high purity, separated REOs for U.S. industrial needs.”
Brett Lynch, Executive Chairman, IonicRE
“We are delighted to upgrade our previously announced memorandum of understanding with USSM with the intention of building our first U.S. facility in Missouri in building a secure rare earths supply chain.”
The validation from the partner side carries its own weight. USSM Co-Founder and CEO Stacy W. Hastie framed the agreement as a pivot from proven technology to industrial deployment:
Stacy W. Hastie, Co-Founder & CEO, USSM
“IonicRE has proven the capability of its rare earth permanent magnet recycling technology; now is the time to apply this on an industrial scale and we have the necessary, fully permitted site in Missouri to make this a reality.”
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Next steps and what to watch
The companies are now progressing definitive agreements, targeted for completion by the end of 2026. Key milestones to monitor in sequence are:
- Finalise definitive JV agreements (target: end of 2026)
- FEED completion, funded by the initial US$5M equity contribution
- Demonstration-scale recycling at the Missouri site or an agreed alternative location
- Progression toward industrial-scale NdFeB and SmCo magnet recycling facilities
It is important to note that the proposed JV remains conditional on a range of matters, including definitive agreements being executed and capital contributions being made. There is no certainty that the matters contemplated by the term sheet will proceed as described.
If the JV does advance, it would add a fourth geography to IonicRE’s integrated platform: the Makuutu Heavy Rare Earths Project in Uganda, the Viridis JV refinery and magnet recycling facility in Brazil, the Ionic Technologies operation in Belfast, and now the proposed Missouri facility. The company is building toward a multi-geography rare earths platform spanning mining, refining, and recycling.
The Viridis JV refinery in Brazil represents another leg of IonicRE’s integrated platform, with the Colossus project underpinning that facility holding one of the highest-grade rare earth resources globally and providing a primary feed source to complement the recycling streams the Missouri JV would process.
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