Overseas Magnesium Resource Development Accelerates; Local Supply in Europe and the US Expected to Fill the Gap [SMM Survey]

Published: Jul 2, 2026 13:35

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[SMM Magnesium Survey: Ex-China Magnesium Resource Development Accelerates, US and European Local Supply Expected to Fill Gap] Australia’s Latrobe fly ash magnesium extraction demonstration plant is 33% complete, with all capacity locked in for the US market, and plans to produce magnesium in H2 2026, filling the gap of no primary magnesium in the US; Canada’s Greenland has received C$7 million in funding to advance brine-based magnesium extraction tests at a molybdenum mine in Greenland, has obtained a magnesium mining permit, and is expanding magnesium resource supply for Europe and the US.

Latrobe Magnesium’s Victoria fly ash magnesium extraction project is gaining steady momentum: construction of the world’s first hydrometallurgical demonstration plant is 33% complete, with 100% of its capacity locked in for the US market

Overall construction of Latrobe Magnesium’s Phase 1 demonstration plant in Victoria has reached 33% completion. Core works including the reduction furnace platform, briquetting screw feeder, and quicklime system have been finished, and programming integration with Rockwell Automation for the briquetting system has commenced. The project is progressing according to plan, with a second reduction furnace prototype test scheduled for mid-July, paving the way for first magnesium production in H2 2026. The demonstration plant has an annual capacity of 1,000 mt, while the Phase 2 commercial plant will produce 10 kt per year. All output has been committed to the US market via a distribution agreement with US Metal Exchange, which made a $2 million upfront payment in March. The US currently has no primary magnesium production and relies on China for about 90% of its supply. This project uses patented technology to extract magnesium from fly ash, turning waste residue from lignite power generation into high-value magnesium products, and holds dual strategic significance in supply chain substitution and waste resource utilization.

Greenland Resources receives Canadian funding to advance Greenland brine magnesium extraction project

On June 29, Greenland Resources Inc announced that it had received C$7 million (approximately $5 million) in non-repayable funding from the Canadian government for metallurgical testing at its Malmbjerg project in Greenland. The project is a molybdenum mine, with magnesium and rare earth elements as by-products. It uses approximately 35,000 m³ of brine containing around 900 ppm magnesium daily, and is studying innovative technologies to extract magnesium from the brine, while also evaluating the potential to recover magnesium from the ore body and brine. The project has already obtained a mining license for magnesium, and metallurgical testing is expected to continue until March 2028.

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