{"success":true,"data":{"pressRelease":{"id":"40767","rtpr_id":"nPn1P7cvDa","ticker":"IXR","exchange":"ASX","all_tickers":["IXR","VMM"],"title":"Nth Cycle and Ionic Rare Earths Join Forces to Build American Rare Earth Independence","author":"PR Newswire","published_at":"2026-05-20T13:00:00.709Z","article_body":"Nth Cycle and Ionic Rare Earths Join Forces to Build American Rare Earth Independence\n\nPR Newswire\n\nBURLINGTON, Mass., May 20, 2026\n\nJoint Development and Licensing Agreement will decrease dependency on China\nfor rare earth refining and chemicals\n\nBURLINGTON, Mass., May 20, 2026 /PRNewswire/ -- Nth Cycle, Inc., a critical\nmineral refining technology company, today announced a Joint Development and\nLicensing Agreement with Ionic Rare Earths Limited (ASX:IXR or \"IonicRE\"), a\nfully integrated rare earth supply chain developer, to establish end-to-end\nrare earth refining operations in the U.S. and globally.\n\n(https://mma.prnewswire.com/media/2934138/NthCycle_Logo.html)\n\nUnder the agreement, Nth Cycle will work to develop its proprietary\nelectro-extraction technology into Ionic Rare Earths Limited (IonicRE) rare\nearth recycling and refining operations, establishing the first production\npathway that bypasses China for both long-loop recycling to high purity form,\nand the chemical agents, specifically oxalic acid, they produce to purify rare\nearth swarf into oxides for new magnet manufacturing. According to the\nagreement, Nth Cycle's technology will be integrated into Ionic's Belfast\nfacility beginning in Q4 2026.\n\nOxalic Acid: The Hidden Domestic Dependency on China for Rare Earth Refining\nChina currently refines 90% of the world's rare earth elements found in ore\nand end-of-life materials, with recovery occurring during precipitation, a\nstep reliant on oxalic acid, a reagent they produce. This creates a hidden\ndependency facing all domestic refiners building operations onshore. While\nthat capacity will reduce processing in China, it won't reduce dependence on\nthem to process here.\n\nNth Cycle and IonicRE: Building a Resilient Process to Underpin Growth of the\nWestern Rare Earth Supply Chain\nIonicRE leads western industry in recycling and refining rare earths from\npre-consumer magnet swarf and spent magnets. Nth Cycle is the most advanced\ncritical mineral refiner for black mass, and refining technology provider in\nrare earths, with singular speed and scalability advantages in the supply\nchain's \"missing midstream.\" Together, the two companies will work to replace\nthe precipitation step in IonicRE's flowsheet with Nth Cycle's\nelectro-extraction closed-loop process, which uses electricity to produce the\nchemicals—rather than oxalic acid—to convert rare earth recycled\nfeedstocks into high-purity oxides, the solid powders used in magnet metal\nproduction.\n\nUnlike conventional refining processes for rare earths, where the\nprecipitating oxalic acid agent is consumed and must be continuously\nresupplied, the companies' integrated system eliminates that dependency\nentirely, while regenerating hydrochloric acid for continuous reuse during\nprocessing. The result is the most resilient and competitive rare earth\nrecycling and refining flowsheet available, reducing costs, external supply\ndependencies, and carbon footprint.\n\n\"Rare earth refining in the U.S. has made progress but building a resilient\nsupply chain in the West requires solving every point of dependence, not just\nthe most visible ones,\" said Megan O'Connor, CEO and Co-Founder of Nth Cycle.\n\"Nth Cycle's technology closes one of the largest remaining links to Chinese\nchemical supply chains in the rare earth refining process. And because our\nelectroextraction platform works across rare earths, nickel, cobalt, copper,\nand beyond, every application of our system accelerates the critical mineral\nsupply chains our economy and national security depend on.\"\n\n\"Building a rare earth supply chain that the West can actually rely on means\nconfronting supply chain vulnerabilities at every step of the process,\" said\nTim Harrison, Managing Director and CEO of IonicRE. \"Nth Cycle gives us a\ntechnology pathway that lowers our operating costs and removes one of the most\ncritical of those vulnerabilities. That is exactly the kind of partnership\nthat makes domestic refining genuinely viable.\"\n\nIonicRE Managing Director and CEO, Tim Harrison commented, \"IonicRE are\nexcited to be announcing this partnership with Nth Cycle today, one that\nleverages exciting technology from electroextraction for precipitation into\nIonicRE's patented long-loop recycling technology, and one that has the\npotential to further reduce both our OPEX and carbon footprint significantly.\nOxalic acid represents approximately ~50% of our benchmark carbon footprint\nwhich is 60% lower than primary (mined) supply of rare earth oxides. This\nongoing innovation will ensure we continue to stay a step ahead on providing\nnot only the highest purity rare earth oxides in the market, but validated\nmaterials for western end users.\"\n\nNth Cycle's Commercialization\n\nThe joint development and licensing agreement with IonicRE follows Nth Cycle's\nhistoric $1.1B off-take with Trafigura for mixed hydroxide precipitate (MHP)\nand battery grade lithium carbonate refined from black mass. These agreements\ndemonstrate the multi-application advantage of the company's refining solution\n- the only commercial system that produces the full spectrum of critical\nmetals from ore and recycled feedstock and integrates with any rare earth\nrefining process regardless of upstream separation technology.\n\nAbout Nth Cycle\n\nNth Cycle is a critical minerals midstream refining company building the\ntechnology and infrastructure needed for Western supply chains. The company\naddresses the market's structural bottleneck: feedstock volumes do not align\nwith the scale and economics of large, traditional refineries. Nth Cycle\nsolves this constraint with a modular system, dramatically lowering capital\nintensity, deployment time and emissions to convert industrial scrap, black\nmass and primary feeds into intermediate and refined products within the\nnickel, cobalt, copper and rare earth value chains. These advancements enable\nthe domestic production and allied partnerships vital to industrial\ncompetitiveness, national security and supply chain resilience.\n\nAbout IonicRE\n\nIonic Rare Earths Limited (ASX: IXR or IonicRE) is an emerging miner, refiner,\nand recycler of sustainable and traceable magnet and heavy rare earths needed\nto develop net-zero carbon technologies.\n\nIonic Technologies International Limited (\"Ionic Technologies\"), a 100% owned\nUK subsidiary, has developed processes for the separation and recovery of rare\nearth elements (REE) from mining ore concentrates and recycled permanent\nmagnets. Ionic Technologies is focusing on the commercialisation of the\ntechnology to achieve near complete extraction from end of life / spent\nmagnets and waste (swarf) to high value, separated and traceable magnet rare\nearth products with grades exceeding 99.9% rare earth oxide (REO).\n\nIonicRE has also executed a transformational 50/50 joint venture refinery and\nmagnet recycling facility in Brazil with Viridis Mining and Minerals Limited\n(ASX: VMM) to separate high value magnet and heavy rare earths from the\nColossus Project's full spectrum of REOs.\n\nThis integrated strategy completes the circular economy of sustainable and\ntraceable magnet and heavy rare earth products needed to supply applications\ncritical to EVs, offshore wind turbines, communication, and key defense\ninitiatives.\n\nFor more information about IonicRE and its operations, please\nvisit www.ionicre.com\n(https://edge.prnewswire.com/c/link/?t=0&l=en&o=4692706-1&h=1561617439&u=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.ionicre.com%2F&a=www.ionicre.com)\n.\n\nMedia Contact\nMahoney Communications Group\nDaysa Corrington\ndaysa@mahoneycommunications.com (mailto:daysa@mahoneycommunications.com)\n(212) 220-6045\n\nView original content to download\nmultimedia:https://www.prnewswire.com/news-releases/nth-cycle-and-ionic-rare-earths-join-forces-to-build-american-rare-earth-independence-302776973.html\n(https://www.prnewswire.com/news-releases/nth-cycle-and-ionic-rare-earths-join-forces-to-build-american-rare-earth-independence-302776973.html)\n\nSOURCE Nth Cycle\n\n\n\nPhoto: \nhttps://mma.prnewswire.com/media/2934138/NthCycle_Logo.jpg\n\nCopyright (c) 2026 PR Newswire Association,LLC. All Rights Reserved.","article_body_html":"","raw_payload":{"data":{"id":"nPn1P7cvDa","title":"Nth Cycle and Ionic Rare Earths Join Forces to Build American Rare Earth Independence","author":"PR Newswire","ticker":"IXR","created":"2026-05-20T13:00:00.709Z","tickers":["IXR","VMM"],"exchange":"ASX","article_body":"Nth Cycle and Ionic Rare Earths Join Forces to Build American Rare Earth Independence\n\nPR Newswire\n\nBURLINGTON, Mass., May 20, 2026\n\nJoint Development and Licensing Agreement will decrease dependency on China\nfor rare earth refining and chemicals\n\nBURLINGTON, Mass., May 20, 2026 /PRNewswire/ -- Nth Cycle, Inc., a critical\nmineral refining technology company, today announced a Joint Development and\nLicensing Agreement with Ionic Rare Earths Limited (ASX:IXR or \"IonicRE\"), a\nfully integrated rare earth supply chain developer, to establish end-to-end\nrare earth refining operations in the U.S. and globally.\n\n(https://mma.prnewswire.com/media/2934138/NthCycle_Logo.html)\n\nUnder the agreement, Nth Cycle will work to develop its proprietary\nelectro-extraction technology into Ionic Rare Earths Limited (IonicRE) rare\nearth recycling and refining operations, establishing the first production\npathway that bypasses China for both long-loop recycling to high purity form,\nand the chemical agents, specifically oxalic acid, they produce to purify rare\nearth swarf into oxides for new magnet manufacturing. According to the\nagreement, Nth Cycle's technology will be integrated into Ionic's Belfast\nfacility beginning in Q4 2026.\n\nOxalic Acid: The Hidden Domestic Dependency on China for Rare Earth Refining\nChina currently refines 90% of the world's rare earth elements found in ore\nand end-of-life materials, with recovery occurring during precipitation, a\nstep reliant on oxalic acid, a reagent they produce. This creates a hidden\ndependency facing all domestic refiners building operations onshore. While\nthat capacity will reduce processing in China, it won't reduce dependence on\nthem to process here.\n\nNth Cycle and IonicRE: Building a Resilient Process to Underpin Growth of the\nWestern Rare Earth Supply Chain\nIonicRE leads western industry in recycling and refining rare earths from\npre-consumer magnet swarf and spent magnets. Nth Cycle is the most advanced\ncritical mineral refiner for black mass, and refining technology provider in\nrare earths, with singular speed and scalability advantages in the supply\nchain's \"missing midstream.\" Together, the two companies will work to replace\nthe precipitation step in IonicRE's flowsheet with Nth Cycle's\nelectro-extraction closed-loop process, which uses electricity to produce the\nchemicals—rather than oxalic acid—to convert rare earth recycled\nfeedstocks into high-purity oxides, the solid powders used in magnet metal\nproduction.\n\nUnlike conventional refining processes for rare earths, where the\nprecipitating oxalic acid agent is consumed and must be continuously\nresupplied, the companies' integrated system eliminates that dependency\nentirely, while regenerating hydrochloric acid for continuous reuse during\nprocessing. The result is the most resilient and competitive rare earth\nrecycling and refining flowsheet available, reducing costs, external supply\ndependencies, and carbon footprint.\n\n\"Rare earth refining in the U.S. has made progress but building a resilient\nsupply chain in the West requires solving every point of dependence, not just\nthe most visible ones,\" said Megan O'Connor, CEO and Co-Founder of Nth Cycle.\n\"Nth Cycle's technology closes one of the largest remaining links to Chinese\nchemical supply chains in the rare earth refining process. And because our\nelectroextraction platform works across rare earths, nickel, cobalt, copper,\nand beyond, every application of our system accelerates the critical mineral\nsupply chains our economy and national security depend on.\"\n\n\"Building a rare earth supply chain that the West can actually rely on means\nconfronting supply chain vulnerabilities at every step of the process,\" said\nTim Harrison, Managing Director and CEO of IonicRE. \"Nth Cycle gives us a\ntechnology pathway that lowers our operating costs and removes one of the most\ncritical of those vulnerabilities. That is exactly the kind of partnership\nthat makes domestic refining genuinely viable.\"\n\nIonicRE Managing Director and CEO, Tim Harrison commented, \"IonicRE are\nexcited to be announcing this partnership with Nth Cycle today, one that\nleverages exciting technology from electroextraction for precipitation into\nIonicRE's patented long-loop recycling technology, and one that has the\npotential to further reduce both our OPEX and carbon footprint significantly.\nOxalic acid represents approximately ~50% of our benchmark carbon footprint\nwhich is 60% lower than primary (mined) supply of rare earth oxides. This\nongoing innovation will ensure we continue to stay a step ahead on providing\nnot only the highest purity rare earth oxides in the market, but validated\nmaterials for western end users.\"\n\nNth Cycle's Commercialization\n\nThe joint development and licensing agreement with IonicRE follows Nth Cycle's\nhistoric $1.1B off-take with Trafigura for mixed hydroxide precipitate (MHP)\nand battery grade lithium carbonate refined from black mass. These agreements\ndemonstrate the multi-application advantage of the company's refining solution\n- the only commercial system that produces the full spectrum of critical\nmetals from ore and recycled feedstock and integrates with any rare earth\nrefining process regardless of upstream separation technology.\n\nAbout Nth Cycle\n\nNth Cycle is a critical minerals midstream refining company building the\ntechnology and infrastructure needed for Western supply chains. The company\naddresses the market's structural bottleneck: feedstock volumes do not align\nwith the scale and economics of large, traditional refineries. Nth Cycle\nsolves this constraint with a modular system, dramatically lowering capital\nintensity, deployment time and emissions to convert industrial scrap, black\nmass and primary feeds into intermediate and refined products within the\nnickel, cobalt, copper and rare earth value chains. These advancements enable\nthe domestic production and allied partnerships vital to industrial\ncompetitiveness, national security and supply chain resilience.\n\nAbout IonicRE\n\nIonic Rare Earths Limited (ASX: IXR or IonicRE) is an emerging miner, refiner,\nand recycler of sustainable and traceable magnet and heavy rare earths needed\nto develop net-zero carbon technologies.\n\nIonic Technologies International Limited (\"Ionic Technologies\"), a 100% owned\nUK subsidiary, has developed processes for the separation and recovery of rare\nearth elements (REE) from mining ore concentrates and recycled permanent\nmagnets. Ionic Technologies is focusing on the commercialisation of the\ntechnology to achieve near complete extraction from end of life / spent\nmagnets and waste (swarf) to high value, separated and traceable magnet rare\nearth products with grades exceeding 99.9% rare earth oxide (REO).\n\nIonicRE has also executed a transformational 50/50 joint venture refinery and\nmagnet recycling facility in Brazil with Viridis Mining and Minerals Limited\n(ASX: VMM) to separate high value magnet and heavy rare earths from the\nColossus Project's full spectrum of REOs.\n\nThis integrated strategy completes the circular economy of sustainable and\ntraceable magnet and heavy rare earth products needed to supply applications\ncritical to EVs, offshore wind turbines, communication, and key defense\ninitiatives.\n\nFor more information about IonicRE and its operations, please\nvisit www.ionicre.com\n(https://edge.prnewswire.com/c/link/?t=0&l=en&o=4692706-1&h=1561617439&u=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.ionicre.com%2F&a=www.ionicre.com)\n.\n\nMedia Contact\nMahoney Communications Group\nDaysa Corrington\ndaysa@mahoneycommunications.com (mailto:daysa@mahoneycommunications.com)\n(212) 220-6045\n\nView original content to download\nmultimedia:https://www.prnewswire.com/news-releases/nth-cycle-and-ionic-rare-earths-join-forces-to-build-american-rare-earth-independence-302776973.html\n(https://www.prnewswire.com/news-releases/nth-cycle-and-ionic-rare-earths-join-forces-to-build-american-rare-earth-independence-302776973.html)\n\nSOURCE Nth Cycle\n\n\n\nPhoto: \nhttps://mma.prnewswire.com/media/2934138/NthCycle_Logo.jpg\n\nCopyright (c) 2026 PR Newswire Association,LLC. All Rights Reserved."},"type":"article","timestamp":"2026-05-20T13:00:00.727787942Z","server_sent_at_ms":1779282000727},"received_at":"2026-05-20T13:00:00.878Z","source_url":"https://www.prnewswire.com/news-releases/nth-cycle-and-ionic-rare-earths-join-forces-to-build-american-rare-earth-independence-302776973.html"},"analysis":{"id":"30207","press_release_id":"40767","analysis_json":{"industry":{"label":"Metals & Mining","sector":"Materials"},"redFlags":[],"eventType":"partnership","narrative":"Ionic Rare Earths (IXR) has signed a Joint Development and Licensing Agreement with Nth Cycle to integrate Nth Cycle's proprietary electro-extraction technology into Ionic's rare earth recycling and refining operations.\n\nThe partnership aims to eliminate dependency on Chinese-supplied oxalic acid, a critical reagent in current refining processes, by replacing the precipitation step with a closed-loop electro-extraction process that regenerates hydrochloric acid.\n\nIntegration is scheduled to begin at Ionic's Belfast facility in Q4 2026. The deal is expected to significantly reduce operating costs and carbon footprint, with oxalic acid currently representing ~50% of Ionic's benchmark carbon footprint.","sentiment":"bullish","agentHooks":{"shouldPost":true,"suggestedAngle":"Strategic tech partnership to de-risk supply chain from China and cut OPEX/carbon footprint."},"keyFigures":{"customDimensions":{"china_refining_share":"90%","oxalic_acid_carbon_footprint_share":"~50%","ionicre_carbon_footprint_vs_primary":"60% lower"}},"quotedText":"Nth Cycle gives us a technology pathway that lowers our operating costs and removes one of the most critical of those vulnerabilities. That is exactly the kind of partnership that makes domestic refining genuinely viable.","namedEntities":{"people":[{"name":"Megan O'Connor","role":"CEO and Co-Founder of Nth Cycle"},{"name":"Tim Harrison","role":"Managing Director and CEO of IonicRE"},{"name":"Daysa Corrington","role":"Media Contact"}],"products":["electro-extraction technology","oxalic acid","rare earth oxides","mixed hydroxide precipitate (MHP)","battery grade lithium carbonate"],"companies":[{"name":"Nth Cycle, Inc.","relationship":"partner"},{"name":"Ionic Rare Earths Limited","ticker":"IXR","relationship":"filer"},{"name":"Trafigura","relationship":"customer"},{"name":"Viridis Mining and Minerals Limited","ticker":"VMM","relationship":"joint venture partner"},{"name":"Mahoney Communications Group","relationship":"PR agency"}],"dollarAmounts":[{"amount":"$1.1B","context":"Nth Cycle off-take agreement with Trafigura"}]},"materialImpact":{"score":3,"reasoning":"Strategic joint development and licensing agreement with Nth Cycle to integrate proprietary refining technology. This addresses a critical supply chain vulnerability (dependency on Chinese oxalic acid) and promises lower OPEX and carbon footprint, but integration is not until Q4 2026, limiting immediate financial impact."},"tickerRelevance":{"others":[{"ticker":"VMM","relevance":"joint venture partner"}],"primary":"IXR"},"globalImportance":35,"audienceRelevance":40,"eventTypeSecondary":[],"importanceComponents":{"tickerTier":"small-cap","eventGravity":"strategic_partnership","sectorWeight":"high","householdBrandBoost":"low","marketCapAdjustment":"neutral","retailFavoriteBoost":"low","geopoliticalRelevance":"high"}},"event_type":"partnership","event_type_secondary":null,"sentiment":"bullish","material_impact_score":3,"narrative":"Ionic Rare Earths (IXR) has signed a Joint Development and Licensing Agreement with Nth Cycle to integrate Nth Cycle's proprietary electro-extraction technology into Ionic's rare earth recycling and refining operations.\n\nThe partnership aims to eliminate dependency on Chinese-supplied oxalic acid, a critical reagent in current refining processes, by replacing the precipitation step with a closed-loop electro-extraction process that regenerates hydrochloric acid.\n\nIntegration is scheduled to begin at Ionic's Belfast facility in Q4 2026. The deal is expected to significantly reduce operating costs and carbon footprint, with oxalic acid currently representing ~50% of Ionic's benchmark carbon footprint.","key_figures":{"customDimensions":{"china_refining_share":"90%","oxalic_acid_carbon_footprint_share":"~50%","ionicre_carbon_footprint_vs_primary":"60% lower"}},"named_entities":{"people":[{"name":"Megan O'Connor","role":"CEO and Co-Founder of Nth Cycle"},{"name":"Tim Harrison","role":"Managing Director and CEO of IonicRE"},{"name":"Daysa Corrington","role":"Media Contact"}],"products":["electro-extraction technology","oxalic acid","rare earth oxides","mixed hydroxide precipitate (MHP)","battery grade lithium carbonate"],"companies":[{"name":"Nth Cycle, Inc.","relationship":"partner"},{"name":"Ionic Rare Earths Limited","ticker":"IXR","relationship":"filer"},{"name":"Trafigura","relationship":"customer"},{"name":"Viridis Mining and Minerals Limited","ticker":"VMM","relationship":"joint venture partner"},{"name":"Mahoney Communications Group","relationship":"PR agency"}],"dollarAmounts":[{"amount":"$1.1B","context":"Nth Cycle off-take agreement with Trafigura"}]},"model_name":"qwen3_6_27b_awq","prompt_hash":"sha256:727b4b9429a443af","schema_hash":"sha256:05005c02d9cffac9","created_at":"2026-05-20T13:01:23.447Z","global_importance":35,"audience_relevance":40,"importance_components":{"tickerTier":"small-cap","eventGravity":"strategic_partnership","sectorWeight":"high","householdBrandBoost":"low","marketCapAdjustment":"neutral","retailFavoriteBoost":"low","geopoliticalRelevance":"high"}},"durationMs":25702,"modelName":"george-droid-qwen-72b"}}