US rare earth firm Evolution Metals and Technologies (EM&T) received its first shipment of five metric tonnes (t) of neodymium-praseodymium (NdPr) metal from Vietnam to make high-performance magnets.
EM&T contracted Japan's Senri Trading to buy bulk quantities of NdPr metal from SRE Vietnam, a wholly owned subsidiary of Japan's Tokai Trading, the company said today.
The initial shipment is the first stage of an agreement for SRE to scale deliveries to support EM&T's production capacity, which is expected to reach 10,000 t/yr by November.
The company will convert NdPr metal into alloys and then into magnets at its commercial facilities in South Korea. It has also contracted Japan's equipment maker Ulvac for magnet-making equipment.
The development aligns with the 20 July executive order from US president Donald Trump and the 1 January 2027 sourcing deadlines for rare earth permanent magnets in US defense systems, the company said.
EM&T currently has a capacity of 400 t/yr of bonded magnets and 260 t/yr of sintered magnets, selling to customers in the semiconductor and automotive industries, including LG, Hyundai, Samsung, Ford and Mercedes-Benz.
