Project EU Magnesium is a co funded project (Project Nr 21105) through EIT Raw Materials GmbH and provides reimbursable funding for Mures Magnesium and its 6 consortium partners to work on upscaling the existing project developed by MMg to produce Magnesium metal. The project runs June 2022 – June 2025 and will assure the steps needed to ensure commercial project success in the very near future.
With the EU having no domestic Magnesium (Mg) production and full dependence on Chinese imports, the Sept 2021 Mg crisis expose weakness in the EU related value chains and industries. China’s halt of Mg production (due to COVID, shipping, environmental and energy issues) while being the monopoly on supply of Mg resulted in a dramatic EU supply shortage and consequential record prices. Mg imports when available were quoted at up to $11,000/mt (Dec 2022) from $2,300/mt in 2021.
MMg looks to tackle this supply issue by constructing a Mg metal production facility and utilizing a COPR (chromic ore processing residue) stored on its site as its raw material feedstock. MMg has invested 6.2mio€ of its own funds to purchase an 84ha former state-owned site in Tarnaveni while also developing a process to TRL 6 to extract Mg, Cr and Ca from the residue. The evaluation of the resource and the initial process was verfied and certified in a Competent Persons Report (CPR) and JORC 2012 MRE report from SRK Consulting Ltd and issued in May 2020.
Using a process waste material feedstock, the project differs in being a multi stream facility producing Mg, Chrome Oxide Green, Calcium Chloride and a NaOH by product from a single waste material feed stock. During the EU Magnesium project, the partners will define any changes needed to the MMg process to bring the resultant products to the market.
The MMg processing facility will produce cca. 20,000 tpy of Mg covering 13.5% of the EU Mg demand over the first 9-year phase 1 period while processing the on-site COPR waste stream and increasing to 25,000 tpy or the equivalent of 15% of EU demand in phase 2(Year 10+).
Sustainable Mg supply for EU
Project run over June 2022 – June 2025
Consortium of 7 partners: Romania, Germany, Netherlands, Slovenia, Greece, France
Consortium partners
Mures Magnesium, Romania
is a metallurgical company owning an 42-hectare former chemical production site in Mures County, central Romania. The site has been cleared and has an 18.7-hectare Waste Storage Facility (WSF) containing a measured 1.92 million tonnes of waste minerals (Chromic Ore Processing Reside or “COPR”). Mures Magnesium has developed a processing route where it will extract minerals from the COPR to produce Magnesium metal (Mg), Chrome Oxide Green (Cr2O3) and Calcium Chloride (CaCl2). Mures Magnesium has developed the project over the past 10 years entirely through private funding. Mures Magnesium through the EIT Project Nr 21105 (EU Magnesium) will bring the project to a bankable feasibility study level. The company has a CPR and an indicated MRE (JORC 2012) already done by SRK (UK) Ltd.
Van der Laan International Consultancy (V.I.C.)
is a Dutch consultancy firm serving the Global metal and mining industry. VIC is specialised in Competitor analysis, Business appraisal and strategy, market surveys and analyses for critical metals and minerals. VIC was founded in April 2021 by Henk van der Laan a senior metallurgist and business consultant with over 42 years of experience in the metal industry.
National Institute of Chemistry – Slovenia (NIC)
The National Institute of Chemistry is an excellent Research Institute, established in 1946 in Slovenia. The Institute has 3 primary fields of activity: Research, Education and Collaboration with industry partners. The Department of Catalysis and Chemical Reaction Engineering, partner in the EU Magnesium project, is primarily invested in chemical (process) engineering, reactor and unit operation design and construction, as well as multi-scale process modelling.
MEAB, Germany
For more than 50 years, MEAB has been active in the hydrometallurgical field. Focus is the development of processes for recovering metals from solid or liquid waste. MEAB brings in hydrometallurgical experience such as Mg leach, Cr(VI) removal, Mg purification and pure Mg precipitation. MEAB was already involved in the initial development of the pilot plant work and mass balance.
SEC IKE, Greece
a senior consultancy firm, is responsible for the Material Flow Analyses and Life Cycle Assessment of the system, having expertise on Life Cycle Cost Analysis, Social Life Cycle Assessment, eco-design, environmental communications and regulatory compliance to private companies and business associations. SEC IKE has in depth experience in EU funded projects.
Géosciences Conseils-CATURA Geoprojects, France
is a consultancy company created in 2017 by Dr. Beate Orberger. B. Orberger has more than 30 years of experience in the raw material sector from exploration to metallurgical processing, international industrial and scientific project management. CATURA contributes to developing go-to-market strategies for spin-offs of the EIT projects. Furthermore, CATURA is responsible for communication and dissemination activities. Apart from EU Magnesium, CATURA is partner in the KIC-EIT projects “ScaVanger, Scaleup, VALORE, DysCovery”. Previously CATURA was partner in the EIT Raw Material projects ANCORELOG and PAIRED-X, and consultant for ERAMET IDEAS in the H2020 SOLSA project.
F & R Worldwide, Romania
Providing multifaceted environment & geotechnical engineering excellence. F&R Worldwide combines the proven history of its successful US parent company, Froehling & Robertson, Inc. – established in 1881, with the entrepreneurial spirit of a passionate European team of engineers and scientists. With offices in Romania, Austria, and the United States, F&R Worldwide helps businesses and governments around the world meet today’s environmental, geotechnical, construction and health & safety challenges. A team of over 100 planners, engineers, geologists, chemists, and regulatory specialists, linked to over 400 experts
