Great Western Minerals Group (GWMG), an integrated rare earths processor, has entered into a long term supply agreement with Aichi Steel Corporation (ASC), a Japanese producer of specialty steel.
Under the terms of the agreement, GWMG through its subsidiary Less Common Metals (LCM) will supply rare earth alloys for production of efficient bonded magnets.
LCM, producer and global supplier of Rare Earth alloys and metals to the magnet industry, has been delivering neodymium iron boron (NdFeB) alloys to ASC for over a decade. ASC uses the alloys to produce anisotropic magnet powder in its MagFine facility. The powder is used for manufacturing most strong bonded magnets.
ASC’s MagFine business is undergoing an expansion program. The size of the current manufacturing facility located in Seki, Japan will be doubled.
In order to support the production expansion of MagFine products, ASC requires a reliable source of rare earth metals and alloys to meet its long-term needs. Hence, GWMG has been selected to supply alloys as it owns a mine at Steenkampskraal, South Africa and a LCM facility in the UK.
The collaboration of GWMG and ASC enables the delivery of NdFeB alloys, which are manufactured by LCM utilizing rare earth oxides. The oxides are produced at the GWMG’s mine in South Africa. As an initial phase of expansion, the capacity of LCM facility is being doubled to meet the current demand from ASC. Additional phase expansion has been designed to meet ASC’s future demand.