Australian Strategic Materials (ASX:ASM) has produced 6kg of a neodymium iron boron (NdFeB) alloy at the Korean Institute of Rare Metals (KIRAM) facility in Korea. The NdFeB alloy was manufactured from the FeNd alloy produced by ASM’s metallisation pilot plant.
ASM Managing Director, David Woodall, said NdFeB is a key rare earth permanent magnet alloy. KIRAM has certified the metallic structure and ratio of key metals (Nd: Fe: B = 32%: 67%: 1%) of the alloy, confirming its suitability for rare earth permanent magnet production. KIRAM is a division of KITECH, the Korea Institute of Industrial Technology, which is a South Korean government research institute.
ASM continues to assess the potential of developing a higher-volume continuous metal production facility in 2021. The successful production of the NdFeB alloy gives ASM further confidence in its capability to produce this permanent magnet alloy at the metal facility, which would be situated in Korea.
The successful production of this NdFeB alloy is an important milestone for ASM, and paves the way for integrating production of key rare earth permanent magnet alloys into our developing metals business,” Mr Woodall said.
“Our team is working closely with KIRAM, a key research group in Korea, to gain certification of the alloy. In the coming months, we’ll produce further sample permanent magnets for the Korean market review.
“ASM is now focused on assessing the potential for development of a metals processing plant in Korea. In addition to laying the foundation for a potential metals business, which would include metals from our Dubbo Project, we continue to progress offtake and strategic partner agreements.”