Mercuria eyes equity in African assets, new metals boss says
“You will see us very present in Africa and putting our money where our mouth is in respect of the Copperbelt,” Kostas Bintas said.
Montreal – Geomega Resources Inc. (“GéoMégA” or the “Corporation”) (TSX.V: GMA) is pleased to announce that Innord Inc. (“Innord”), a private subsidiary controlled by GéoMégA, has entered into a collaboration agreement with University of Liege who is conducting work with Comet Traitements SA as part of a pilot study on hybrid and electric vehicle recycling on behalf of a major vehicle manufacturer. Within the scope of this collaboration, Innord will be conducting separation testing on rare earth element (“REE”) concentrates produced by University of Liege from magnets contained in hybrid and electric vehicles which are recovered through the pilot study. Participating in this study opens the door for a potential new supply source through recycling electric motors from the transportation industry in the future.
Currently, recycling of steel and copper is very well established, but recycling of permanent magnets out of these new and more efficient motors is very limited.
End of life magnet recycling is becoming a focus point for the permanent magnet industry. Electric vehicle manufacturers are no exception and are investing in recycling for the purpose of recovering value from magnets, lithium ion batteries, copper, aluminum and other recyclable products in these vehicles in order to comply with environmental regulations. In the European Union, 85% of every vehicle must be reused or recycled and 95% recovered since 2015 (EU Directive 2000/53/EC).
Neodymium magnets are an important component in making more powerful electric motors for vehicles and wind turbines. It is anticipated that more magnets will become available as these products are discarded and recycled in the future. China has a ban on importing permanent magnet scraps and thus Innord’s ISR technology provides a clean and alternative solution for the growing supply of permanent magnet scraps.
“It is important to plan ahead, and we are glad that vehicle manufacturers are looking at ways of recycling permanent magnets. We see a significant increase in sales of electric vehicles and in installation of wind turbines world wide, two major consumers of permanent magnets. We already see supply becoming available from these applications and with only more becoming available every year. China is clearly ahead of the curve and has been recycling these scrap magnets for many years already by using their existing solvent extraction facilities. The ISR technology should fit in perfectly to help this growing problem of recycling permanent magnets outside of
China.” commented Kiril Mugerman, President and CEO of GéoMégA and Innord.
About GéoMégA (www.geomega.ca)
GéoMégA is a mineral exploration and evaluation company focused on the discovery and sustainable development of economic deposits of metals in Québec. GéoMégA is committed to meeting the Canadian mining industry standards and distinguishing itself with innovative engineering, stakeholders’ engagement and dedication to local transformation benefits. GéoMégA holds over 17.8M shares and over 20% of Kintavar Exploration Inc. who is advancing the Mitchi stratiform copper project in Quebec.
About Innord Inc.
Innord is a private subsidiary of GéoMégA of which GéoMégA owns 96.1%. The goal of Innord Inc. is to develop and optimize the proprietary separation process of rare earth elements based on electrophoresis, for which it holds all the rights. Electrophoresis is the migration of charged species (ions, proteins, particles) in solution in the presence of an electric field. Innord has filed patents in Canada and the United States to protect its novel separation process and is looking to file in other jurisdictions.
Cautions regarding forward‐looking statements
Neither TSX Venture Exchange nor its Regulation Services Provider (as that term is defined in the policies of TSX Venture Exchange) accepts responsibility for the adequacy or accuracy of this release.
This news release contains statements that may constitute “forward‐looking information” or “forward‐looking statements” within the meaning of applicable Canadian securities legislation. Forward‐looking information and statements may include, among others, statements regarding future plans, costs, objectives or performance of the Corporation, or the assumptions underlying any of the foregoing. In this news release, words such as “may”, “would”, “could”, “will”, “likely”, “believe”, “expect”, “anticipate”, “intend”, “plan”, “estimate” “target” and similar words and the negative form thereof are used to identify forward‐looking statements. Forward‐looking statements should not be read as guarantees of future performance or results, and will not necessarily be accurate indications of whether, or the times at or by which, such future performance will be achieved. No assurance can be given that any events anticipated by the forward‐looking information will transpire or occur, including as regards the commercialization of any of the technology referred to above, or if any of them do so, what benefits the Corporation will derive. Forward‐looking statements and information are based on information available at the time and/or management’s good‐faith belief with respect to future events and are subject to known or unknown risks, uncertainties, assumptions and other unpredictable factors, many of which are beyond the Corporation’s control. These risks, uncertainties and assumptions include, but are not limited to, those described under “Risk Factors” in the Corporation’s annual management’s discussion and analysis for the fiscal year ended May 31, 2018, which is available on SEDAR at www.sedar.com; they could cause actual events or results to differ materially from those projected in any forward‐looking statements. The Corporation does not intend, nor does the Corporation undertake any obligation, to update or revise any forward‐looking information or statements contained in this news release to reflect subsequent information, events or circumstances or otherwise, except if required by applicable laws.
