- +44 (0) 151 356 3500
- GENERAL@LESSCOMMONMETALS.COM
With many years’ experience in the production of materials to tight compositional tolerances and controlled microstructures, LCM offers an innovative and highly flexible approach to a wide range of material requirements.
Our Mission:
We make bespoke alloys, refine valuable raw materials and manufacture the best products for our customers.
With more than 30 years’ experience in the Rare Earth Industry, Less Common Metals has the technical expertise to push the boundaries of many technical processes and develop innovative advancements, key to our customers’ needs. At LCM, our mission is to enhance stakeholder value through innovative, ethical, and socially responsible practices that have a positive impact on the environment.
Our Vision:
Our core principles include:
3. Increase Stakeholder Value:
4. Innovative: Leading the industry with cutting-edge technologies and processes that enhance efficiency, quality, and sustainability in the production of alloys for use in a range of applications.
5. Ethical: Upholding the highest standards of integrity in all our operations and interactions, ensuring transparency, fairness, and accountability.
6. Socially Responsible: Committing to practices that benefit society, including labour practices, community engagement, and support for social causes.
7. Impact on the Environment: By adopting a life-cycle perspective LCM recognises the impact its activities have on the environment and strive to continually improve its environmental management system through sustainable resource management, waste reduction, and the implementation of technologies to reduce harmful off-gases.
With USA Rare Earth, Inc. (Nasdaq: USAR), we at Less Common Metals are establishing Europe’s first dedicated metal-making platform in Lacq, France. By co-locating with CARESTER SAS, we are closing the loop to create a seamless "mine-to-magnet" value chain.
This collaboration allows us to scale up production of essential alloys used in key industries, ensuring a stable and sustainable future for these critical materials.
LCM is acquired by USA Rare Earth. USAR’s upstream mining rights and resources with LCM’s proven, scalable midstream metal and alloy production creates the first and only true Mine-to-Magnet supply chain in the West.
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Expansion of our metal making capabilities to include DyFe and Tb. These metals are essential for improving the performance of neodymium magnets, which are widely used in various industries such as renewable energy, automotive, and aerospace.
Further UK Government funding was received to investigate the feasibility of
establishing a UK production facility for rare earth magnets.
A new hydrogen decrepitation furnace was installed and commissioned for
commercial production of NdFeB powders from LCM’s existing strip cast alloy facilities. In
the same year, LCM received funding from UK Government to investigate stable and secure
supply chains for rare earth permanent magnets.
Electrolytic metal production expanded to include neodymium praseodymium alloy
LCM joined three industrial partners to kick off a new €17m EU Horizon 2020 project,
named SecREEts. The aim of this project was to establish an all-European supply chain for
rare earth magnets.
LCM was acquired by Indian Ocean Rare Metals and begun to successfully establish a
complete commercial production of neodymium metal by electrolysis to western-world
standards of environmental, health and safety stewardship
Second strip caster was installed one year later and in the same year trial
quantities of neodymium metal were made by electrolysis
Relocation to Hooton Park, Ellesmere Port and installation of first 600kg strip caster
Relocation to Valley Road in Birkenhead and received the Queen’s Award for
Enterprise: International Trade (Export)