LS Eco Energy secures rare-earth oxides supply from Vietnam

[Courtesy of LS Eco Energy]

South Korea’s LS Eco Energy Ltd., formerly LS Cable & System Asia, signed a long-term rare earth oxides purchase agreement in Vietnam to successfully diversify the sourcing of key materials for the chip and secondary battery industries.

According to LS Eco Energy on Wednesday, it inked a rare earth oxide off-take agreement with the Vietnamese Hung Thinh Group that day in Seoul.

Under the agreement, LS Eco Energy will supply neodymium, dysprosium, and other rare earth oxides refined by the Hung Thinh Group to domestic and international permanent magnet manufacturers. Permanent magnets are used for producing essential components for secondary batteries, such as traction motors.

LS Eco Energy will commence the supply with 200 tons in 2024, with plans to expand the volume to over 500 tons annually starting in 2025. The current market price for neodymium is around 100 million won ($75,700) per ton.

LS Energy is the first Korean company to secure a source for large-scale rare earth element supply outside of China, where over half of the world’s rare earth element production is located. As sourcing resources from the country remains tough, the deal is anticipated to help stabilize the supply chain.

The Chinese Ministry of Commerce mandated reporting destinations for rare earth element exports in November 2023, adding rare earth extraction and separation technologies to the list of technologies banned from export a month later.