Siemens said Thursday it would be linking up with Lynas Corp, an Australian company that is building a controversial rare-earths refinery in Malaysia, to produce magnets containing the element neodymium, according to dpa. The German engineering and electronics group said in Munich it had signed a declaration of intent to set up a joint venture, with Siemens to own 55 per cent and Lynas the rest. Stockmarket-listed Lynas is to supply the metal under a long-term contract so Siemens can manufacture powerful permanent magnets, which are used in big electric motors and in wind-turbine electric generators. With China, the world's main producer, choking off rare-earth exports recently, Siemens turned to Lynas to guarantee supply. Australian miner Lynas has faced a public outcry in Malaysia over a plant that is nearing completion in the eastern state of Pahang. On June 30, the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) ruled the plant posed no risk of radioactive contamination to the environment. The refinery is expected to meet up to 30 per cent of the world's demand for rare earths outside China. Rare-earth elements, a group of 15 metals, are essential for the manufacture of almost all electronic devices. Details of the joint venture with Siemens are still being negotiated. "The planned joint venture is strategically important to us to ensure a long-term, stable supply of high-performance magnets," the chief of Siemens Drive Technologies, Ralf-Michael Franke, was quoted as saying in the announcement. Export restrictions by China, which has a quasi-monopoly in rare earths, triggered worldwide alarm this year.
