HISTORY OF GEOMEGA
- 2009 – Geomega founded – focus on mineral exploration.
- 2010 – Listing on the TSX Venture Exchange under the symbol GMA.
- 2011 – Montviel carbonatite discovered in Quebec, Canada.
- 2012 – Maiden 43-101 resource estimate published.
- 2013 – Hiring of Dr. Pouya Hajiani and work begins on innovative REE separation.
- 2014 – First successful results of REE separation using Geomega’s electrophoresis technology.
- 2015 –
- Dr. Pouya Hajiani appointed as Chief Technology Officer of Geomega.
- Largest 43-101 bastnaesite resource estimate in Canada published.
- Developed successfully an innovative hydrometallurgical process for Montviel. Low acid (HCl) and low power consumption and patent application filed.
- Innord, a private subsidiary, is created with focus on innovation in rare earths extraction and refining.
- 2016 –
- Innord is officially launched with the initial funding by severa Quebec Government funds (3.84% equity).
- First successful prototype of the electrophoresis technology in-house is completed with increased concentrations and smaller size than the 2014 equipment.
- Focus switches to secondary sources in order to demonstrate technology – lower CAPEX risk than traditional mining.
- 2017 –
- Technology improves with additional increases in concentration of REE per unit volume (1,250 times higer than that in 2016).
- Total prototypes capacity reaches 1kg of REO per run.
- 95% purity of Neodymium (Nd), Dysprosium (Dy) and 99.8% Cobalt (Co) produced from industrial residues.
- 2018 –
- Innord’s Separation of REE (ISR) technology is introduced as an evolution of electrophoresis. The ISR technology exploits the same principles of REE separation, all the while requiring less sophisticated equipment and works at higher concentrations. The ISR technology is a combination technologies for extraction and separation for REE which uses conventional reagents which are mostly recovered, recycled and re‐used.
- Successful extraction and purification of Nd, Dy oxides (99.5%+ purity) from NdFeB scrap in lab scale.
- End user validation of magnet grade purity of Nd.
- Geomega begins offering Nd and Co compounds for sale.
- ISR technology scaled up to 20L and Geomega begins receiving larger volumes of magnetic residues for next scale up.
- First Letter of Intent signed for magnet waste with a US based company.
- 2019 –
- LOI signed with Germany based Rocklink for additional magnet waste material.
- Geomega appoints Ginger International as sales agent for Europe and Asia.
- ISR technology demonstrated in a 20L pilot.
- Demonstration plant target announced at 1 tonne per day of feed material.
- Front end engineering design begins for the demonstration plant
- Main reagent recovery reaches over 95%
- ISR tested with various forms and types of NdFeB scraps to demonstrate flexibility of the technology
- Demonstration plant design capacity increased to 1.5 tpd per 8 hours shift
- 2020 –
- Geomega acquires 3.84% minority interest in Innord for Quebec Government funds, owns 100% of technology subsidiary
- Saint-Bruno-de-Montarville in Quebec selected for the rare earths recycling demonstration plant
- Hatch joins the engineering team for the REE recycling demonstration plant
- Debt financing for $3.05M is secured from Investissement Quebec for the construction of the demonstration plant
- Agreement with Jobmaster Magnet Canada for REE magnet recycling
- Geomega obtains U.S. Patent approval for metallurgical extraction of rare earths and niobium (Nb) – US15/578,498
- Geomega partners with USA Rare Earths to recycle magnet swarf from their future magnet production facility in the USA.
"Geomega offers a clean, innovative solution to rare earth extraction and separation without any organic solvents. Our scale-up model is based on recycling and gradually increasing to reach mining capacity while generating cash flows. Our approach substantially lowers the capital and the market risk while de-risking the technology."
Things are evolving quickly at GeoMega. Call us at 1-450-641-5119 to find out the latest.
