Siemens and Lynas to form a joint venture for magnet production: Vertical Integration

[Sparty]

Siemens and Lynas to form a joint venture for magnet production
The German Siemens Drive Technologies Division and the Australian Lynas Corporation Limited (?Lynas?) (ASX: LYC, OTC: LYSDY) have signed a letter of intent (?LOI?) to establish a joint venture company for the sustainable production of neodymium based rare earths magnets to serve Siemens? production requirements for energy-efficient drive applications and wind-turbine generators.

Lynas will provide raw materials for the joint venture, predominantly a combined neodymium/praseodymium metal, through a long term supply contract.

The partnership between Siemens and Lynas will secure a long-term and sustainable end-to-end supply chain from mine to magnet to end application. The joint venture for magnet production will be led by Siemens with the planned shareholding to be 55% Siemens and 45% Lynas.

Additional financial details of the JV are not available at this time.

Ralf-Michael Franke, CEO of the Siemens Drive Technologies Division, stated: "This planned joint venture would be an important strategic pillar for us to pursue a long-term and stable supply with high performance magnets. We are convinced that Lynas is the right partner for this intention.?

Lynas Executive Chairman, Nicholas Curtis, said: ?Lynas is delighted that this first step is achieved to entering this long term partnership with Siemens, a market leader in their field of large drive technology. It is clear rare earths magnets have tremendous growth potential in this field, and Lynas is pleased to be able to provide the necessary ingredients of a stable, secure economically and environmentally sound supply chain which is required to enable this market to grow to its full potential.?


The Siemens Drive Technologies Division is the world's leading supplier of the entire drive train with electrical and mechanical components. Lynas is an ASX 100 listed company, executing its strategy to create a reliable, fully integrated source of Rare Earths from mine through to market. Lynas is setting a new benchmark for the security of supply and environmental standards in the global Rare Earths industry. The recently completed IAEA review has confirmed that the Lynas plant in Malaysia, once completed later this year, is expected to be fully compliant with international standards.