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- Australian Strategic Materials (ASM), through its partner, Ziron Technology has produced 7.5 kilograms of high-purity dysprosium at its plant in South Korea
- ASM has now produced all key metals at the pilot plant required for permanent magnets
- The company has now begun producing ferro-dysprosium and zirconium
- These are expected to be the final products metallised from its Dubbo Project
- Company shares are up just over 19 per cent and are trading for $2.45
Australian Strategic Materials (ASM), through its partner, Ziron Technology has produced 7.5 kilograms of a high-purity dysprosium metal at its pilot plant.
Last month, the company produced 760 grams of dysprosium at a high-purity of 99.6 per cent.
ASM has spent the last few months producing rare earth metals from its pilot plant in South Korea. These metals, which include zirconium, hafnium, titanium, and more, are intended to be used for permanent magnet alloys.
The company produces these using its metallisation process which uses much less energy and has a smaller environmental footprint than the current standard metallisation processes.
ASM has now produced neodymium, praseodymium, neodymium-praseodymium alloy and dysprosium – all of which are key for permanent magnets.
“ASM is progressing further in its development to become an integrated mine to metal business, with the successful production of the heavy rare earth metal, dysprosium,” Managing Director David Woodall said.
The company has now begun producing ferro-dysprosium and zirconium metals which are expected to be the last products metallised from materials at ASM’s Dubbo Project in New South Wales.
“Our focus is now on commencing the design and construction of a 250 kg per day continuous metal plant in Korea,” David added.
This phase marks the first of ASM’s strategy to develop a plant with an annual capacity of 3000 to 5000 tonnes. This is aimed at meeting the demand for critical metals in Korea’s manufacturing industry.
Company shares are up 19.9 per cent and are trading for $2.45 at 3:41 pm AEST.
