Japan Organization for Metals and Energy Security (“JOGMEC", headquartered in, Tokyo; Chairman & CEO: Ichiro Takahara; capital: 1.5139 trillion Japanese yen) and Iwatani Corporation (headquartered in Osaka City, Osaka and Minato-ku, Tokyo; president: Hiroshi Majima; capital: 35.096 billion Japanese yen) have decided to invest up to 110 million euros in equity and debt to Caremag SAS (“Caremag”, headquartered in Lyon, France) through their jointly established SPC, “Japan France Rare Earths Co., Ltd.”, in Japan. Additionally, along with this financing, a long-term offtake agreement has been signed to supply heavy rare earths oxides produced by Caremag to Japan.

　Heavy rare earths are used in magnets for electric vehicle motors, offshore wind turbine generators, as well as in various electronic components. JOGMEC and Iwatani Corporation have signed a contract with Caremag to secure a long-term supply of 50% of the heavy rare earths produced by the company.

　Currently, Caremag is building a rare earth refining plant in the Lacq Industrial Park, located in the Pyrenées-Atlantiques in southwestern France. The plant aims to reduce environmental footprints in the manufacturing process by actively processing recycled materials in addition to rare earth concentrates, thereby minimizing carbon emissions. Furthermore, the company employs its proprietary technologies to minimize industrial water usage.

　Iwatani Corporation has been importing rare earths and supplying them to the Japanese market since the 1990s. Through the equity and debt financing to Caremag, the company will strengthen the supply chain of rare earth for the Japanese market.

　JOGMEC has determined to provide financial support to this project with the consent of the Minister of Economy, Trade and Industry, recognizing that it will contribute to the diversification and security of rare earth supply for Japan. Notably, this is the first case of investment support from JOGMEC for a stand-alone refinery project which was made possible due to the revision of the JOGMEC Act in the fiscal year 2020.

Headquarters	Minato-ku, Tokyo
Representative	Chairman & CEO Ichiro Takahara
Established	February 29, 2004
Capital	1.5139 trillion Japanese yen

Headquarters	(Osaka Headquarters) Osaka City, Osaka; (Tokyo Headquarters) Minato-ku, Tokyo
Representative	President Hiroshi Majima
Established	February 2, 1945
Capital	35.096 billion Japanese yen

Headquarters	Minato-ku, Tokyo
Representative	President Naomasa Ueda
Established	November 13, 2024
Capital	1.918 million Japanese yen

JOGMEC	Metals Strategy Dept.	+81-3-6758-8027
	Metals Development Dept.	+81-3-6758-8029
	Public Relations Div, General Coordination Dept.	+81-3-6758-8106
Iwatani Corporation	Public Relations Dept.	+81-6-7637-3468