South Yorkshire tech firm Metalysis has been bought out of administration by an international mining firm.
The Rotherham company, which is a pioneer in powdered metals used in the production of electric vehicle batteries and the aerospace sector, employed 60 people before it ran out of cash.
Administrators Grant Thornton made 37 people redundant several weeks ago.
Power Resources Group CEO Ray Power said Metalysis was “just a whisper away from commerciality” when it went into administration.
He continued: “Delighted to expand the PRG family with the acquisition of a great company and great team at Metalysis.
“The technology metals focus is a perfect complement to PRG’s existing vertically-integrated mining and refining operations and customer base.”
Founded in 2001, Metalysis has attracted £92 million funding to date but made a loss of £7.1m last year against revenues of £886,000.
Investors in a £12m round last year included Woodford Investment Management, Draper Esprit PLC, ETF Partners, Interogo Treasury and Hercules Capital of California.
PRG mines in Rwanda for tantalum, which is used in mobile phones, and niobium, which is used in high-strength alloys.