Geomega Resources and its subsidiary Innord have added Hatch Engineering to its engineering group to advance the development and prepare for constructing the first rare earth magnet recycling plant outside of Asia.

This engineering work on the demonstration plant in St Bruno, Quebec, will be funded 50% by additional funds from the National Research Council of Canada Industrial Research Assistance Program (NRC-IRAP), Geomega says.

Hatch is a multidiscipline engineering group with a strong presence in Quebec, Canada. It has expertise in rare earth and other industrial minerals processing, industrial and chemical construction and development, permitting and many other fields which Geomega is now entering into.

Kiril Mugerman, President and CEO of Geomega, said: “Hatch has taken part in some of the most complex recent mining and processing projects in Canada and globally, and is well suited to bring Geomega its technical and project delivery expertise to this demonstration plant project.

“With a strong engineering partner, government support and significant interest in the rare earth sector today globally, we are very excited to develop the first rare earths magnet recycling facility outside of Asia right here in Quebec, Canada.”

He added that other major milestones will be announced in the near future as the company puts forward its strategy to develop the rare earths magnet recycling facility in St Bruno.

Based in Montreal, Geomega Resources has developed a proprietary in-situ recovery technology that recycles rare earth elements, it says. The corporation is targeting 2020 for initial production from its demonstration plant.