Mkango Resources Limited Announces Hypromag USA to Establish Early Magnet Finishing

Mkango Resources Ltd. (MKA) announced on July 27, 2026, a phased approach for HyProMag USA’s Texas Hub. Initial U.S. operations will utilize up to 20 tonnes of magnet blocks supplied from the UK and Germany to shape and finish magnets for U.S. customers, with commissioning of this finishing equipment targeted for the first half of 2027.

The fully integrated plant, which includes the Hydrogen Processing of Magnet Scrap (HPMS) section, is now scheduled to begin commissioning in the second quarter of 2028, a shift from previous guidance of the second half of 2027. The integrated hub’s initial capacity post-Q2 2028 is approximately 678 tonnes per annum of NdFeB material, with a staged ramp-up to 1,526 tonnes per year. The company reports that engineering is approximately 38% complete and long-lead procurement has commenced.

The announcement reframes the Texas Hub schedule, pushing the core integrated recycling and manufacturing plant back by approximately 6–9 months, from H2 2027 to Q2 2028. An early magnet-finishing step using imported block material, limited to only 20 tonnes, serves as a modest mitigation but does not alter the fact that main production capacity, which represents the bulk of the project’s NPV, will arrive later than previously expected.

HyProMag USA’s NPV of US$409 million at current prices is heavily dependent on the full plant’s throughput, making a delay of this magnitude a negative development for near-term cash flows and de-risking, though not a project-ending event.

Mkango Resources Ltd. (MKA) is shifting its business model toward integrated rare-earth magnet recycling and manufacturing, while simultaneously pursuing a spin-out of its mining and separation assets through a SPAC merger. The company holds a 79.4% stake in HyProMag via Maginito, granting it exclusive access to HPMS technology for short-loop magnet recycling.

HyProMag’s operations span three key regions. In the UK, its facility at Tyseley Energy Park is producing recycled NdFeB alloy powder and has begun magnet manufacturing, with a current capacity of 100 tpa on a single shift that is expandable. In Germany, a plant in Pforzheim officially opened in April 2026; the HPMS vessel has been commissioned with a capacity of up to 750 tpa and is currently in the ramp-up phase. In the USA, HyProMag operates a 50:50 joint venture with CoTec Holdings, known as HyProMag USA. This entity includes a Texas Hub with a capacity of up to 1,526 tpa, supported by two spoke pre-processing sites.

The mining and separation assets, which are set to be listed as Mkango Rare Earths Ltd. on NASDAQ, include the Songwe Hill rare earth project in Malawi and the Puławy separation plant in Poland. The Songwe Hill project has a post-tax NPV of $339 million and an IRR of 24% based on its DFS. The Puławy plant has a post-tax NPV of $779 million and an IRR of 40% based on its PFS.