Japan's state-owned energy agency Jogmec and metal importer Iwatani agreed to jointly invest in Lyon-based French rare earths producer Caremag, aiming to start procuring dysprosium and terbium from as early as 2027.
Jogmec and Iwatani will jointly invest as much as €110mn ($120mn) in exchange for securing a term-contract for heavy rare earths (HRE) supply from the French firm, the Japanese consortium announced on 17 March.
Iwatani will import around 250 t/yr of dysprosium and 45 t/yr of terbium, a Jogmec representative told Argus, adding that those volumes account for around 20pc of Japan's potential demand of HREs. Delivery from Caremag could start as early as from 2027, according to Jogmec, given commercial operations at the French firm is expected to start sometime in late 2026.
Caremag plans to build a rare earth plant in the Lacq industrial park in southwestern France to separate rare earths from 2,000 t/yr of recycled magnets and 5,000 t/yr of raw ore, according to the Japanese ministry of trade and industry (Meti).
Tokyo has been trying to diversify supply sources of rare earths that are used for producing permanent magnets, Jogmec said, to reduce Japan's "extremely high dependency on a specific country", possibly referring to China.
Jogmec and fellow Japanese trading house Sojitz in 2023 invested in Australia-based Lynas Rare Earths, securing 65pc of Lynas' dysprosium and terbium production.
The project with the French firm is part of a wider diversification strategy, according to Jogmec, adding that Japan is aiming to diversify supply sources of rare earths other than dysprosium and terbium. Tokyo in 2022 designated permanent magnets as one of the country's 11 strategically critical items.
Tokyo and Paris signed the "Japan-France Declaration on Cooperation in The Field of Critical Minerals" in May 2024, according to Meti, aiming to expand bilateral co-operation on rare earths projects in France.
