Australia’s Lynas Rare Earths and South Korea’s JS Link will jointly develop a rare earth permanent magnet factory in Kuantan, Malaysia, following a memorandum of understanding signed in July 2025.
The two sides have reached a long-term partnership agreement for the move, the Australian firm said in a statement on Tuesday.
Under the agreement, JS Link will establish a magnet factory near Lynas’ existing advanced materials plant in Kuantan, with an operating capacity of 3,000 tons per year of NdFeB permanent sintered magnets. The factory can create up to 400 new jobs in Malaysia, with magnets intended to supply automotive, wind energy, and electronics manufacturing supply chains in Korea, Malaysia, and other key markets.
Besides, Lynas will invest approximately A$50 million ($34.7 million) in ordinary equity of JS Link, representing approximately 4.58 percent of JS Link on a fully diluted basis, with the funds supporting construction of the Malaysian factory. The shares will be subject to a three-year escrow period.
Lynas will also supply rare earth materials to JS Link’s existing magnet factory in Yesan, South Korea, and the planned Malaysian factory at commercial prices under an exclusive supply arrangement until January 2038.
Pol Le Roux, Interim CEO of Lynas Rare Earths, said the partnership brings together Lynas’ rare earths processing expertise with JS Link’s magnet manufacturing capability to create a new manufacturing industry in Malaysia, delivering on the company’s growth objective of expanding into the outside-China metal and magnet supply chain.
Jun Y. Lee, CEO of JS Link, said the partnership with Lynas can help create a stable and optimal permanent magnet value chain, contributing to a resilient rare earth supply chain and making a positive contribution to the economies of Malaysia, Australia, and Korea.