Magnetics Business & Technology - Summer 2018 - 30

INDUSTRY NEWS
Mitsubishi Electric Expands to Meet Growth in
Superconduc ng Magnets
With the capability now to increase its production capacity by 60%,
Mitsubishi Electric is projecting that its superconducting magnet
sales will grow to $80 million annually by 2021. This would be a
70% increase over its 2017 sales. The superconducting magnets
are used in magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) machines primarily, also in semiconductor manufacturing equipment and other sophisticated apparatus.
The company has progressively been bringing online a new plant
for superconductor manufacturing at its Transmission and Distribution Systems Center in Ako, Japan after completing construction of it last year.

drive demand for our products," said Geoff Bedford, Neo's president and CEO. In December, the company raised about $200 million in an initial public offering.
Magnequench, its magnetic powders unit, continued to see growth
in many of its end market applications including micro-motors for
vehicles and traction motors. Revenues were up by 17% in the
quarter from the prior year largely due to the increased prices
even though volume declined 8%, said Bedford. Sales into the
automotive sector continued to be strong, driven by the increased
use by manufacturers of permanent magnet motors across most
vehicle lines to reduce vehicle weight and, increase fuel economy.
Sales of the company's zero-heavy-rare earth magnetic powders
for use in vehicle drive train motors is expected to see robust
growth, he said.
The company's chemicals and oxides segment reported a 5%
increase in revenue in the quarter over the prior year, primarily
driven by higher rare earth pricing, amidst a volume decline of
12%. Its rare metals segment booked a particularly strong quarter
versus the prior year, with volume expanding 45%, revenue higher
by 24% and operating income up 106%.

Medallion Produces Rare Earth Concentrate Rich in
Magnet Metals

Mitsubishi's new Ako plant
The Ako plant will initially add 25% capacity to the company's
previous production capability. It includes a newly designed coil
winding machine and advanced drying furnaces. Other equipment
will be added sequentially to bring it to full production capacity.
The plant has extra-large air-conditioned and dustproof areas to
accommodate the additional expansion, said the company. Previously dispersed in three separate buildings at Ako, its superconducting magnet production operations and offices are now integrated into a single facility.
With the demand for advanced medical services continuing to
grow, the company expects the global demand for magnetic resonance imaging equipment to continue to grow about 6% annually
for the foreseeable future. Mitsubishi said that it hopes to capitalize on the growing global demand for superconducting magnets
with its new capability.

Neo Performance Materials Reports Strong First
Quarter & Year-End Results
Neo Performance Materials Inc. reported a strong first quarter of
2018 with a 12.7% increase in revenues and projects continued
growth in its Magnequench business unit. The Toronto-based
manufacturer of rare earth and rare metal-based functional materials had revenues of $434 million in 2017, climbing 13.6% over
2016.
"We had a very good first quarter, supported by many of the global
macro growth trends such as electrification of vehicles and more
stringent air emission standards that we expect will continue to

Magnetics Business & Technology * Summer 2018

Medallion Resources Ltd. has announced that its recent process
testwork produced a cerium-depleted rare earth concentrate containing 41.6% of the magnet metals neodymium and praseodymium (NdPr) by mass. The contained NdPr represents an estimated
81.6% of the concentrate value, based on current market values
of the contained rare earth elements.
"This is an excellent result. It provides confirmation we can recover a marketable mix of magnet metals from the tested commercial monazite feedstock," said Don Lay, Medallion's president and
CEO. "Given the improving market for REEs and these favourable
results, we can confidently accelerate our extraction process testwork to deliver a rare earth concentrate product rich in valuable
magnet metals."
NdPr is the key input material for the high-powered permanent
rare earth magnets required for the growing demands of vehicle
electrification, wind power generation and robotics. Medallion is
pursuing near-term production of rare earth elements in North
America by sourcing and processing monazite sand available as a
by-product of heavy-mineral sands mining operations. Monazite,
a rare earth phosphate mineral, has a history as a commercial
rare earth resource with well-understood metallurgy, said Lay.
Medallion is also working to ensure safe transport, processing,
and disposal of the naturally occurring radioactive elements associated with monazite.
In April, the company completed a private fund raising of $500,000.
Proceeds of the offering will be used to further its metallurgical test
program the Saskatchewan Research Council, additional customer and monazite feedstock supply development work; jurisdiction
and site analysis for a proposed rare-earth extraction plant and
working capital, said Lay.

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