With South Korea and Japan, two Asian players made major moves this week in securing their supply of critical minerals. While South Korea forges closer ties with resource-rich Brazil, Japan’s JOGMEC has made its initial investment in a Namibian rare earth mine.
Mine to Magnet: Brazil and South Korea Forge Critical Minerals Partnership
South Korea is seeking new sources of critical minerals to secure supplies for its high-tech industries, while Brazil is home to vast reserves of critical raw materials, including rare earth elements. Against this backdrop, the two countries have agreed to strengthen their cooperation, with a particular focus on developing the entire value chain, from mining and processing to downstream manufacturing.
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Posco Moves to Secure Rare Earth Materials from Brazil
On Monday, Brazil and South Korea agreed to deepen cooperation across the critical minerals value chain – and initial concrete plans are already taking shape at the corporate level. Posco plans to purchase up to 30 percent of the future output from the Caldeira rare earths project in Brazil for use in permanent magnets. The South Korean group is also considering taking a stake in Caldeira developer Meteoric and plans to explore opportunities with the mining company for downstream rare earth processing in Brazil.
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Japan’s JOGMEC to Invest $34 Million in Namibian Rare Earth Mine
Following an initial announcement of the cooperation in March, JOGMEC and Toyota Tsusho have now executed their investment in a new special purpose company for the Lofdal heavy rare earth project in Namibia, moving toward what could become Japan’s first rare earth mine development in Africa.
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Queensland Seeks to Capture More Value From its Mineral Wealth
Queensland has unveiled a new roadmap for its critical minerals sector. The Australian state aims to accelerate project approvals, expand domestic production capacity and attract greater international investment. Queensland already produces minerals such as copper, zinc, silver and tungsten. According to the state government, the region also hosts significant deposits of rare earth elements, gallium and germanium, although these resources are not yet being produced commercially.
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U.S. Seeks to Restrict Exports of Mineral-Bearing Scrap
The United States wants to retain more critical raw materials from secondary materials within the country. On Thursday, President Donald Trump authorized the Department of Commerce to restrict exports of materials, including spent rare earth magnets and black mass from battery recycling. The measure is intended to strengthen domestic supply chains and reduce import dependence, also in light of the recently tightened raw-material requirements for the U.S. defense industry.
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