5E Advanced Materials, Inc. has reported a material increase in conversion efficiency during independent testing for its magnet-grade ferroboron development program, advancing work tied to the Fort Cady Project in Southern California.

Independent X-ray diffraction testing confirmed the formation of iron boride in samples processed at 1,300°C, providing third-party validation that the process is producing the intended iron boride phase. Density-based analysis showed that conversion efficiency for the leading precursor pairing rose to an average range of 51% to 62% at 1,300°C, up from approximately 11% during baseline trials conducted at 1,200°C.

Building on these results, 5E Advanced Materials has initiated testing at 1,400°C to evaluate potential further gains in conversion efficiency. The company is also advancing plans for an approximately 500-gram batch test with a third-party metallurgical processing partner to support process optimization, characterization, and future customer sample production.

Additional characterization work remains underway, including the comparison of diffraction patterns across samples and the evaluation of minor secondary phases observed under certain conditions. The program is designed to connect the Fort Cady boron resource to higher-end markets, including permanent magnets, specialty steels, industrial automation, and defense applications.

The ferroboron work follows broader metallurgical progress at the asset. In March 2026, 5E Advanced Materials produced stable meta boric acid achieving approximately 80% B2O3 equivalent content and filed a provisional patent application with the USPTO covering its production process.

“It is an early but encouraging step in our strategy to use our domestic boron resource as the foundation for higher-value advanced materials. We are now focused on improving conversion efficiency, increasing batch size and generating the material characterization needed to progress toward future customer samples and strengthen the potential connection between Fort Cady and the U.S. permanent magnet supply chain,” said Paul Weibel, Chief Executive Officer of 5E Advanced Materials.

Read the full announcement: 5E Advanced Materials Advances Higher-Value Ferroboron Strategy with Independent Confirmation of Iron Boride Formation