Seongan Begins Full-Scale Production of Rare Earths for Electric Vehicle Motors... Sourcing Raw Materials from U.S. Mining Company

Seongan is set to fully launch its rare earth business by starting the production of neodymium metal prototypes at its factory in Vietnam.

On the 31st, Seongan announced that it will begin producing neodymium-praseodymium (NdPr) metal prototypes from late June at its factory in Binh Duong Province, Vietnam.

A company representative stated, "We have received a major term sheet to supply raw materials from a leading U.S. rare earth mining company," adding, "After quality testing, we plan to proceed with large-scale supply contracts in the future."

Seongan revealed its business plan by amending its articles of incorporation to include rare earth-related business as a new business purpose at the extraordinary general meeting of shareholders held last January. The company has been establishing NdPr metal production facilities at its factory located in My Phuoc 3 Industrial Park, Binh Duong Province, Vietnam.

The Binh Duong factory currently has an annual production capacity of 144 tons. Seongan plans to expand production capacity to 720 tons by installing additional production facilities by October this year. Subsequently, further facility investments will be made to increase capacity up to 2,000 tons by next year. Due to the nature of rare earth metal processing, the large-scale power required for operation will be supplied with 3,000 KW of electricity from the Binh Duong Power Authority.

At the extraordinary general meeting of shareholders on the 8th of next month, Seongan will appoint a new board of directors to lead the rare earth business. Kenji Konishi, a candidate for inside director, previously served as Vice President of JLMAG, one of China’s leading rare earth companies, overseeing technology. Candidate for outside director, Sangmo Woo, is a metallurgical engineering expert with experience at POSCO M-Tech and LS Nikko Copper.

A company representative said, "The new board members possess the technology necessary for developing rare earth products for electric vehicle motors," adding, "It is highly significant that we are conducting the business by sourcing rare earth raw materials from Western countries outside China to produce NdPr metal processing essential for rare earth products used in electric vehicles, wind turbines, and high-performance electronic devices."