Ionic Rare Earths Limited said a full planning submission for its proposed commercial magnet recycling plant in Belfast was lodged with Belfast City Council on 19 September and validated on 24 September. The company has agreed a Planning Performance Agreement with the council and said a planning determination is currently expected in the first quarter of 2027.
The company said front-end engineering and design work advanced during the quarter, including selection of vendors for key plant elements. It expects basic engineering to be completed by the second quarter of 2027, before construction activities are expected to begin in the third quarter of 2027. Ionic said it is progressing a funding package intended to unlock a £12 million capital-grant Offer in Principle from the UK Department for Business and Trade and Advanced Propulsion Centre UK.
At the Belfast magnet recycling demonstration plant, Ionic said it completed a £600,000 upgrade package. The company said the work resolved circuit bottlenecks and increased aqueous and organic processing capacity to about two tonnes a year of separated dysprosium and terbium, while supporting higher product-purity specifications. It said several separation campaigns were planned for the fourth quarter of 2026 following commissioning of the upgraded solvent-extraction circuit.
Source: Download IXR official ASX announcement, 2026-10-13.
Computer-generated rendering of Ionic Technologies’ proposed Belfast Magnet Recycling Plant, from Ionic Rare Earths’ 13 October 2026 company announcement.