French government advisor says Carester, a French company, teams up with Malaco, a Malaysian miner on a rare earths project.

Carester, a French rare-earths specialist, and Malaco Mining Group, a Malaysian miner, have teamed up to create a rare-earths separation plant. They will also work together on rare earths mining.

After meeting with Malaysian officials, Benjamin Gallezot (a consultant on strategic minerals) said that the agreement will include both technology transfers and expertise to ensure environmental compliance.

Western countries are working to find new sources of rare Earths for electric vehicles, smartphones, and other high-tech items. This is to reduce their dependence on China, which is the world's biggest rare earths producer.

Malaysia is seeking foreign partners to develop its rare earths industry. The country is estimated to have 16.1 million tonnes in rare earths but lacks technology to mine them and process them.

Gallezot stated that the companies will seek to build a Malaysian facility focused on the separation of rare earths, which is required before the elements can used to make advanced magnets to manufacture electric vehicles and clean technology.

Gallezot, refusing to name the companies, said that Malaco had already been in contact with a number of European magnet makers. He said that the Japanese government had also expressed interest in the project.

Malaco Mining has not responded to an outside of office hours request for comment. The Japanese embassy also failed to respond immediately to a comment request.

Gallezot also said that the G7 countries will 'look to have discussions with foreign partners outside of the group about critical minerals at its meetings this year.

He said that international cooperation was key to diversifying the supply chain. (Reporting and editing by David Stanway, Jane Merriman, and Rozanna Latiff)

(source: Reuters)