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US-based critical minerals refining and recovery company Momentum Technologies has managed to produce some of the purest rare earths ever reported at its demonstration plant in Carrollton, Texas.

This breakthrough, following the company's recent achievement of commercial-grade battery material purity from black mass refining, now makes Momentum Technologies one of the only companies in the US that can refine both rare earths and battery metals from mined ore and end-of-life materials - at commercially relevant purities.

CEO Mahesh Konduru says these milestones are a generational leap for domestic critical minerals. "Our MSX technology is achieving unmatched purity levels from multiple feedstocks and unlocking value where conventional processing can not. We are the only platform that can refine both rare earth elements and battery minerals from primary and secondary sources, which is a strategic imperative for the Western World."

The company produced 99.9% pure neodymium and praseodymium oxide from e-waste and magnet production waste, 99.5% pure dysprosium from magnet production waste and 99.5% pure yttrium from mined feedstock.

Notably, there is no commercially viable substitute for dysprosium in high-performance permanent magnets used in fighter jets, guided munitions, advanced radars, automotive drive systems and medical imaging equipment. In turn, neodymium and praseodymium is the backbone of permanent magnets powering defence systems, robotics, electric vehicles and physical AI hardware. Yttrium is used in high-performance alloys, medical imaging devices, LED lighting and next-generation defence electronics.

The US currently depends on China for more than 80% of these materials. Attaining more than 99.5% purity for heavy rare earths such as dysprosium and yttrium from diverse feedstocks used to be something only large, centralised Chinese processing operations can do.

Now, through its MSX platform, Momentum Technologies has demonstrated that this can be done using a smaller, modular system built in the US, using everything from secondary waste streams to primary mined materials.

Konduru points out that Momentum Technologies' MSX technology costs less to build and run than conventional methods, with growth possible simply by adding more modular units. MSX eliminates the need for costly, time-consuming processes that are associated with conventional processing of rare earths.

The company is working to advance a commercial-scale rare earths refining project pipeline targeting primary and secondary feedstocks, with planned capacities ranging from 100 t/y to 1 000 t/y.

This audio is brought to you by Endress and Hauser, a global leader in process and laboratory measurement technology, offering a broad portfolio of instruments, solutions and services for industrial process measurement and automation.

Platinum group metals (PGMs) have several properties that make them critical everyday-life minerals, Mintek supervisor applied chemical analysis Nehemiah Mukwevho explicated during his presentation at the Mintek PGM Industry Day, where South Africa's national mineral research organisation and one of the world's leading technology organisations specialising in mineral processing, showcased its latest PGM-relevant services, research capabilities and innovations.

"Proper data is what keeps the whole industry moving," he told the audience at the event covered by Mining Weekly. (Also watch attached Creamer Media video.)

Now in his twenty-second year at Mintek, Mukwevho expressed certainty that, in one way or another, audience members had, at some time or another, enjoyed the application of PGMs that are spread across autocatalysis, jewellery, chemicals, petroleum, electronics, electrical, medical and biomedical sectors.

He was one of a dozen Mintek managers, engineers and scientists who presented in the auditorium of this 92-year-old State-owned mineral research organisation, which is situated at 200 Malibongwe Drive in Randburg.

"The quantification of PGMs is very important because it guides all the plant processes," Mukwevho emphasised during his outline of the occurrence, properties, applications and analytical determination of PGMs,

Hailed by Mukwevho was Mintek's major PGM quantification library and revealed by him was the publication by the organisation of fire assay procedures to attract and retain personnel.

Mintek operates an analytical chemistry division that applies fire assay as a core technique for pre-concentrating and analysing PGMs in ores, concentrates, and geological samples and Mukwevho outlined what Mintek's fire assay know-how offers in helping to the understand PGM-bearing Merensky reef, upper group two (UG2) reef, Platreef, middle group reefs, chromites and sulphides.

Displayed were the overwhelmingly South Africa-based areas where PGM reserves are located.

Fire assay, viewed by Mukwevho as a bedrock PGM analysis method, and he outlined the information that must be provided prior to the commencement of PGM analysis for fire assay to be successful. He also spoke of incorrect estimates presenting challenges.

"This is one area where, over the years, we've had a lot of discussion," he reported.

If the proper information is not provided, many hours of work end up with "something you can't do anything with and you must redo the whole process again, but with the proper information given upfront, you're able to make good decisions".

"When we send quotations to the client, we send them with a table that gives them guidance about the amount of sample that we need, and then also why they must provide a grade estimate," Mukwevho explained at the event covered by Mining Weekly.

Delay-avoidance pre-analysis information required embraces sample grade estimates and ore type disclosure.

To produce reliable results, Mintek complies with approved calibration standards. Its methods are accredited by South Africa's national accreditation system SANAS and processes are monitored through quality control charts and internal and external audits.

Regarding the future of fire assay, several non-fire assay methods are being developed, "but fire assay for me is to remain….and we just need to keep on refining and improving it and then connecting it to other advanced instruments".

Electric fire assay furnaces are giving way to gas furnaces, "because they do help a lot with the exposure to heat, because in fire assay, we work at around 1 200 degrees C".

"With electric furnaces, you work very close to the furnace, but with the gas furnaces, you've got some distance, and then you've got control of the heat, b...

This audio is brought to you by Endress and Hauser, a global leader in process and laboratory measurement technology, offering a broad portfolio of instruments, solutions and services for industrial process measurement and automation.

Energy exploration has picked up sharply in Australia driven by growing Asian gas demand, technological advances and an improved investment climate, with the Iran war underscoring the urgency to develop supply, after years of sluggish spending.

Quarterly oil and gas exploration spending in Australia, the world's second-largest liquefied natural gas (LNG) producer, hit a 10-year high of A$471-million ($329-million) in the March quarter, government data released in June shows.

Energy investment sentiment has improved in part following last year's election of a more supportive second-term Labor government, which faces pressure to fill a looming end-of-decade domestic gas shortfall without harming valuable LNG exports.

Spending is expected to increase about 10% in 2026 to more than $1-billion, according to Rystad Energy, although Canberra's move last month requiring that 20% of gas be set aside for domestic use has sparked industry backlash.

Much of the drilling is focused on three gas-rich regions: the Otway Basin offshore western Victoria, the Beetaloo shale in the Northern Territory, and the Taroom Trough in Queensland. Among them, the Otway is the most established and is close to existing infrastructure.

While the search for more gas and oil in recent years has been concentrated onshore, costlier and riskier offshore investment is on the rise.

"We're seeing renewed interest in frontier and unconventional plays as modern techniques de-risk development," said Krishan Pal Birda, vice president at Rystad Energy.

SHALE HOPES

In the Beetaloo, the territory government is pushing development of what it hopes can become an LNG-scale shale gas resource. It recently offered new acreage in the area for prospective explorers, along with co-funding.

Australia's second-largest gas producer Santos is set to drill three appraisal wells there this year.

In March, Japan's Inpex took a stake in a Beetaloo permit. Development of the Beetaloo could eventually provide the company with an onshore gas source for its Ichthys LNG plant in the Northern Territory's capital, Darwin.

Drilling in the Beetaloo has benefitted from the arrival of more powerful rigs, used by companies such as Tamboran Resources, capable of drilling long lateral wells with many fracking stages.

"Shale developers are the answer to the short supply in Australia," said Bryan Sheffield, a co-founder of US private equity firm Formentera Partners, which is working with Tamboran and invested along with Inpex.

Sheffield, who ran Parsley Energy focused on the giant US Permian shale, cited a more welcoming regional government. "They want Americans to come in," he said at the Australian Energy Producers conference in May, adding that officials want the US service companies and flex rigs.

"I think the experience of Texas is very relevant ... They prove that they're able to do massive multi-stage fracks," said Rick Wilkinson, CEO of advisory firm EnergyQuest.

Not all are convinced on the Beetaloo's development. Bill Hare, the founder of Climate Analytics, raised concern that drilling the vast shale resources could be "very destructive", due to the impact on the land and emissions when gas is burned.

"Quite apart from the climate issue, the water demands are huge in an extremely arid region," Hare said.

SUCCESS, DISAPPOINTMENT AND SURPRISES

In the Otway, exploration has jumped, with companies sharing rigs to cut costs, but their campaigns have had mixed results.

"There is a lot more activity in the Otway than we've seen in years," Amplitude Energy CEO Jane Norman told Reuters.

US major ConocoPhillips drilled two wells in late 2025, the country's first offshore wildcat wells in several years, with one well yielding gas, while a second found gas but not at the l...

This audio is brought to you by Endress and Hauser, a global leader in process and laboratory measurement technology, offering a broad portfolio of instruments, solutions and services for industrial process measurement and automation.

Okiep in South Africa's well-endowed Northern Cape is becoming the copper gift that just keeps on giving, with yet another new Intercept confirming copper continuity.

The Johannesburg Stock Exchange-listed Orion Minerals described the results being generated from its resource optimisation drilling programme as validating its development strategy.

As part of the current drilling campaign at the Okiep Copper Project Flat Mine East prospect, the completed second drill hole completed, taking in the OFMED158 intersection. (Also see above graphic).

These assay results confirm the down-dip continuity previously revealed by the OFMED157 drill hole, which uplift understanding of the structural controls to mineralised mafic units. They build on the good outcomes of the 2024 confirmation drilling programme, which highlighted the endowment of the Flat Mines area, where the latest results are exemplified by the numbers 3.96m at 4.64% copper.

"These outstanding new high-grade drilling results from the Okiep Copper Project further strengthen the potential upside at Flat Mine East," Orion CEO Tony Lennox explained.

"Crucially, this exciting intersection further extends the recently identified high-grade copper zone down-dip and shows that it remains open at depth. The continuity of these high-grade intercepts provides compelling support to extend the geological model and increase the size of the deposit.

"Importantly, it confirms that the mineralised system remains open and continues well beyond the current mineral resource envelope and block model. These results further reinforce the quality and growth potential of the Flat Mines area as a cornerstone of Orion's broader Okiep development strategy and will directly inform the next phase of our resource optimisation drilling programme," Lennox outlined in a media release to Mining Weekly on Monday, June 29.

These results provide strong support for follow-up drilling. By integrating these results with insights from an ongoing geophysical survey, Orion can further refine drill targets and enhance the potential for discovery success across the broader Flat Mine East area.

The Okiep Copper Project's 703 km2 ground holdings encompass most of the Okiep copper mining district, where 105-million tons of extraction has taken place over the past 100 years, 77-million tons of it from the project's prospecting and mining rights area.

Current drilling offers the potential for additional mineral resources at Flat Mines, where past drilling has proven up extensions and infill potential.

Sampling has been carried out using diamond drilling procedures in sampling areas that have been selected through visual observation and handheld analyser reading.

Interestingly, metallurgical test work is being undertaken by Maelgwyn on the Okiep Copper Project's Flat Mines South deposit amid previous test work having been limited to the Flat Mines North and Flat Mines East areas.

The current programme is designed to validate the performance of the proposed process flowsheet for the resources of Flat Mines South.

Dewatering of Flat Mines North has commenced, following completion of the building of a new wastewater dam.

During the three months to March 31, value engineering, operational readiness and critical skills identification took place for project execution at Orion's Prieska copper/zinc mine, also in the Northern Cape. The Prieska mine, located near Copperton, is on a major volcanogenic massive sulphide deposit.

A definitive feasibility study has outlined an accelerated development strategy. This is based on an initial "Uppers" mining operation at a rate of 20 000 t a month as well as dewatering in preparation for the "Deeps" mining phase at a production rate of 200 000 t a month.

Mining Weekly Editor Martin Creamer notes that Sibanye-Stillwater’s CEO has declares the company’s South African platinum assets the ‘world’s best’; he discusses Deputy President Paul Mashatile's recent working trip to China over hydrogen energy and fuel cell technologies; and th