- Write by:
-
Thursday, February 23, 2023 - 20:02:38
-
262 Visit
-
Print
Mining News Pro - US rare earths producer MP Materials (NYSE: MP) has inked a deal with Sumitomo Corp. to supply the Japanese giant with some key elements, such as neodymium and praseodymium, helping the trading house bypass China in EV rare-earth supply chains.
MP Materials, owner of the Mountain Pass mine in California, will sell material from its separation plant to Sumitomo for distribution in Japan.
Until now, output from Mountain Pass has been sent to China for processing, with Japanese companies purchasing from there.
Under the deal, MP Materials — the only rare-earths producer in the US — will handle not only mining, but also smelting of ores and separating various elements.
Such output will be further refined by companies in Vietnam and the Philippines, before being shipped to Japanese magnet makers for use in final products.
The new supply chain arrangement, set to start operating in July, backs up the US and its allies’ plans to cut China’s role in their critical supply chains.
Sumitomo anticipates it will supply 3,000 tonnes of neodymium and praseodymium a year to Japanese magnet makers, equivalent to about 30% of their annual consumption.
President Joe Biden has boosted efforts to help critical minerals companies speed up plans to produce locally. Last year, his administration gave MP Materials a $35 million Pentagon grant to help it acquire further equipment to process rare earth minerals in California.
Its open-pit Mountain Pass mine accounted for about 15% of the world’s mined rare earths supply in 2021, the company says.
The agreement will “stabilize, diversify, and strengthen a supply chain of critical importance to Japan’s manufacturing sector,” the US and Japanese companies said in the joint statement.
As of last year, China accounted for about 90% of smelting and about 70% of rare earth production, data from the U.S. Geological Survey shows.
The US has long been pushing to secure supply chains of critical minerals through partnerships that include Canada, the European Union, the UK, Japan, Australia and South Korea.
Short Link:
https://www.miningnews.ir/En/News/622700
Australian miner Lynas posted a slump in third-quarter sales revenue on Wednesday, missing analyst expectations on the ...
Toronto-listed miner OceanaGold Corp said on Wednesday it will raise 6.08 billion pesos ($106 million) through an ...
A key measure of Chinese copper demand just sank to zero, another indication that global prices are not balanced with ...
The London Metal Exchange is imposing new rules surrounding the movement of metal in its warehousing network, taking aim ...
Iron ore futures prices ticked lower on Monday, weighed down by diminishing hopes of more stimulus in top consumer ...
A Russian arbitration court ruled on Monday that four units of Swiss commodities trader Glencore will pay more than 11.4 ...
China’s state planner on Friday finalized a rule to set up a domestic coal production reserve system by 2027, aimed at ...
Chile’s SQM called another investors meeting at the request of its second-largest shareholder, Tianqi Lithium Corp., ...
Vietnam’s top miner Vinacomin plans to invest 182 trillion dong ($7.3 billion) to ramp up its alumina-aluminum ...
No comments have been posted yet ...