HyProMag USA, a joint venture between CoTec and TSX-V-listed Mkango Resources, has received a letter of interest (LoI) from the Export–Import Bank of the United States (Exim) for its planned rare earth recycling and magnet manufacturing facility in Dallas-Fort Worth (DFW), Texas.

The LoI indicates that Exim may consider financing of up to $92-million for the project, with a repayment tenor of ten years.

“We are very pleased with Exim’s interest in the project,” said CoTec CEO Julian Treger. “The project is strongly aligned with Exim’s ‘Make More in America’ initiative, which provides beneficial financing terms for US companies facing overseas competition to ensure the United States reshores certain critical export areas, including the domestic manufacturing of permanent NdFeB [neodymium-iron-boron] magnets.”

Treger said the project could be a major contributor to the US’s goal of achieving permanent magnet independence and noted HyProMag USA’s rapid deployment potential as a competitive advantage.

Mkango CEO Will Dawes described the project as “transformational” for rare earth supply chains in the US. “With the detailed engineering phase for the project well under way, HyProMag USA is well positioned to create a major new domestic hub for recycling and magnet manufacturing, and a platform for further growth in North America,” he added.

The LoI aligns with the March 2025 Executive Order 2421, Immediate Measures to Increase American Mineral Production, which calls for fast-tracked permitting, capital mobilisation, and strategic stockpiling of critical minerals.

HyProMag is commercialising its hydrogen processing of magnet scrap (HPMS) technology in the US, the UK, and Germany. Developed at the University of Birmingham’s Magnetic Materials Group, the technology benefits from about $100-million in research and development funding and is said to offer advantages over traditional chemical recycling methods by directly liberating magnets from end-of-life scrap.

In November, an independent feasibility study confirmed plans for a central hub in DFW and two preprocessing facilities in South Carolina and Nevada. In March, HyProMag USA announced it was expanding the project’s detailed engineering to include three HPMS vessels and had begun concept studies for additional growth and “Long Loop” recycling.

The DFW facility is expected to produce 750 t/y of recycled sintered NdFeB magnets and 807 t/y of associated co-products, for a total of 1 557 t/y of NdFeB product within five years of commissioning. The 40-year project life is anticipated to create 90 to 100 skilled manufacturing jobs and support revitalisation of the US magnet manufacturing sector.

A March 2025 ISO-compliant study confirmed a carbon footprint of 2.35 kg CO₂ equivalent per kg of NdFeB product, highlighting the environmental benefits of the project.

HyProMag USA is 50:50 owned by CoTec and HyProMag, which in turn is fully owned by Maginito, held 79.4% by Mkango and 20.6% by CoTec.

Mkango is also progressing the Songwe Hill rare earths project in Malawi and the Pulawy separation project in Poland - both of which have been designated strategic projects under the European Union Critical Raw Materials Act. A letter of intent has been signed with Crown PropTech Acquisitions for a planned Nasdaq listing of these assets via a SPAC merger.