metal making capabilities.
Since 2017, LCM has been producing neodymium (Nd) and neodymium praseodymium (NdPr) metal onsite in the UK via fused salt electrolysis. The electrolysis process is the transformation of rare earth oxide into rare earth metal using a direct electric current in a molten salt bath.
In 2023, LCM expanded its metal making production to include dysprosium iron (DyFe) and terbium (Tb) to further enhance their expertise as a complementary supply chain alternative. One electrolysis cell is purely dedicated to the production of DyFe metal, along with the introduction of dedicated furnaces for Tb metal production at a commercial scale. In addition, all material manufactured since 2017 is processed using alternative supply chain material.
Health and safety
The health and safety of our employees is of the utmost importance to us.
The standard personal protective equipment (PPE) for employees working on the factory floor are safety glasses, safety visor/helmet, ear protectors, safety boots, heat-resistant jackets and trousers and work gloves.
For metal handling our operators additionally wear a heat-resistant gauntlet, air-flow full face mask and a portable gas monitor.
You can read more about our health and safety policy here.
Environmental
Without proper environmental measures, electrolysis metal making has the potential to be both polluting and damaging to the health of the workforce and the local area.
This is why we have a variety of systems in place to reduce the impact including local extract systems, and monitoring within the work environment to measure the levels of any potentially noxious material. The gases that come out of the system are all passed through a series of scrubbing systems both a dry scrubber to remove particulates and then a full wet scrubbing system which takes the levels of any of these potentially noxious gases significantly below any sort of threshold level.
All our activity is carried out under the license from the UK Environment Agency and ensures that we maintain these high levels of environmental stewardship.
You can read more about our environmental policy here.