Medallion Resources Forms REE Metallization and Magnet Recycling Partnership

 

VANCOUVER, British Columbia, March 28, 2022 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Medallion Resources Ltd. (TSX-V: MDL; OTCQB: MLLOF; Frankfurt: MRDN – “Medallion” or the “Company”), is pleased to announce signing of an exclusivity agreement (the “Exclusivity Agreement”) with a private North American research company (the “Research Partner”) to provide a three-month period to undertake additional due diligence on proprietary rare earth element metallization and rare earth magnet recycling technologies. If the technical due diligence is successful, Medallion will seek to negotiate investment terms to acquire or partner on all or part of the underlying technologies.

The Research Partner is the exclusive owner and developer of an innovative rare earth element (“REE”) metallization technology. Metallization involves the conversion of REE compounds to REE metal, a crucial step in the production of high strength REE permanent magnets. There are few entities outside China that have this metallization capacity.

The REE metallization technology owned by the Research Partner is derived from a similar process employed for other critical metals. The novel and innovative technology would enable conversion of REE compounds to metal in a continuous process, requiring less energy than incumbent processes and without toxic fluorine chemistry.

The metallization technology is equally applicable to primary and recycled REE feedstock. It presents the opportunity for substantial value add to Medallion’s existing technology portfolio including the Medallion Monazite Process (developed internally) and Ligand Assisted Displacement Chromatography (exclusively licensed from Purdue University for all non-coal sourced raw materials) (Figure 1).

Furthermore, the Research Partner is the exclusive owner of technology and knowhow that combines a novel pyrometallurgical process with a hydrometallurgical process to efficiently preprocess, extract, recover and separate rare earth elements from end-of-life recycled REE permanent magnets. The key enabling technologies have been tested at bench scale; Medallion believes the technologies may have rapid commercialization potential with appropriate commercial support.  

REE permanent magnets, comprised of neodymium, praseodymium, dysprosium and terbium play a fundamental role in the efficient generation of renewable energy and its use in electric vehicles (EV). They are vital in the automotive, aerospace, robotics, electronic, and wind energy industries due to the combined high magnetic strength and low weight. REE magnet materials are currently recycled at a very low rate due to technology barriers in magnet recovery, demagnetization and processing and the past use in applications such as consumer electronics which involve a large number of items each containing a small quantity of REEs. In contrast, the EV and wind turbine applications are well suited to end-of-life recycling.

“Medallion has been actively reviewing opportunities within the REE supply chain, with a focus on the industry bottlenecks where breakthrough technologies are required” said Mark Saxon, President and CEO. “In this process, we have identified a research group with a portfolio of technologies based on low environmental impact design principles. These technologies are complementary to our existing LAD technology platform providing exposure to REE magnet recycling as well as REE metallization, and we are excited to be launching an exclusive due diligence process to learn more and plan future investment and partnership.”

Medallion is actively identifying key emerging technologies that can unlock bottlenecks within the supply of raw materials critical for the clean energy transition. Under the guidance of Dr. Kurt Forrester and with the support of a network of technical advisors, Medallion is in a strong position to identify further breakthrough technologies for the rare earth element industry.

About Medallion Resources

Medallion Resources (TSX-V: MDL; OTCQB: MLLOF; Frankfurt: MRDN) has developed a proprietary process and related business model to achieve low-cost, near-term, rare-earth element (REE) production by exploiting monazite. Monazite is a rare-earth phosphate mineral that is widely available as a by-product from mineral sand mining operations. Furthermore, Medallion has recently licensed an innovative REE separation technology from Purdue University which can be utilized by Medallion and sub-licensed by Medallion to third party REE producers.

REEs are critical inputs to electric and hybrid vehicles, electronics, imaging systems, wind turbines and strategic defense systems. Medallion is committed to following best practices and accepted international standards in all aspects of mineral transportation, processing and the safe management of waste materials. Medallion utilizes Life Cycle Assessment methodology to support investment and process decision making.

More about Medallion (TSX-V: MDL; OTCQB: MLLOF; Frankfurt: MRDN) can be found at medallionresources.com.

Contact(s):

Mark Saxon, President & CEO
+1.604.681.9558 or msaxon@medallionresources.com

Neither TSX Venture Exchange nor its Regulation Services Provider (as that term is defined in the policies of the TSX Venture Exchange) accepts responsibility for the adequacy or accuracy of this release.

Medallion management takes full responsibility for the content of and has prepared this news release. Some of the statements contained in this release are forward-looking statements, such as statements that describe Medallion’s plans with respect to general strategic matters and the advancement of its business plan, Medallion’s ability to advance and commercialize its technology platforms and negotiate commercial agreements with third parties.

Forward-looking statements are frequently, but not always, identified by words such as "expects," "anticipates," "believes," "intends," "estimates," "potential," "possible," "projects," "plans," and similar expressions, or statements that events, conditions or results "will," "may," "could," or "should" occur or be achieved or their negatives or other comparable words.   Since forward-looking statements address future events and conditions, by their very nature, they involve inherent risks and uncertainties, including the risks related to market conditions and regulatory approval and other risks outlined in the Company’s management discussions and analysis of financial results. Actual results in each case could differ materially from those currently anticipated in these statements. These forward-looking statements are made as of the date of this press release, and, other than as required by applicable securities laws, Medallion disclaims any intent or obligation to update publicly any forward-looking statements, whether as a result of new information, future events or results or otherwise, except as required pursuant to applicable laws.

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