Indian miner IREL seeks Japan, South Korea partnerships for rare earth magnet production
The company is looking at both Japan and South Korea for rare earth processing technology, potentially through government-to-government channels, the source said, declining to be named as the discussions are not public.
The miner aims to formalise talks with other countries on rare earth mining and technology partnerships and plans to seek IREL board approval for commercial magnet production this year, the source said.
IREL and the Department of Atomic Energy, which oversees the company, did not respond to requests for comment.
India currently lacks commercial-scale facilities to refine and separate the full range of rare earth elements to high-purity levels.
China, which controls the bulk of global rare earth mining, suspended exports of a wide range of rare earths and related magnets in April, upending the supply chains central to automakers, aerospace manufacturers, and semiconductor companies among others that use them.
IREL has also approached Toyotsu Rare Earths India, a unit of Japanese trading house Toyota Tsusho, to seek help in reaching out to companies in Japan for processing of rare earth materials, the source said.
The source said IREL had an initial meeting with Toyotsu to explore whether it could engage Japanese magnet manufacturers, with one proposal involving the possibility of a Japanese company setting up a plant in India.
Toyota Tsusho and Toyotsu Rare Earths India did not immediately comment.
Japan's Ministry of Economy, Trade and Industry, in charge of rare earths, did not immediately respond to a Reuters email seeking comment.
In June, Reuters reported that India asked IREL to suspend a 13-year-old rare earth export agreement with Japan to conserve domestic supplies.
IREL is prepared to supply rare earth element neodymium oxide to a technology partner, who would then produce the magnets and send them back to India, the source said.
The state miner currently has the capacity to produce 400-500 metric tons of neodymium annually, the source said, noting that output could increase depending on the terms of the collaboration.
IREL also plans to expand domestic rare earth mining and processing.
In India, rare earth mining is restricted to IREL, which supplies the Department of Atomic Energy with materials for nuclear power and defence-related applications.
The company is also exploring potential rare earth mining opportunities in Argentina, Australia, Malawi and Myanmar, the source said.
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
&w=3840&q=100)
Business Standard
an hour ago
- Business Standard
OpenAI staff plan to sell $6 billion in stock to SoftBank, other investors
Current and former OpenAI employees plan to sell approximately $6 billion worth of shares to an investor group that includes Thrive Capital, SoftBank Group Corp. and Dragoneer Investment Group, in a deal that values the ChatGPT maker at $500 billion, according to people familiar with the matter. The talks are early and the size of the share sale could still change, said the people, who asked not to be identified discussing private information. The secondary share investment is on top of SoftBank's commitment to lead OpenAI's $40 billion funding round, which values the company at $300 billion, according to another person familiar with the deal. That round remains ongoing, with OpenAI recently securing $8.3 billion from a syndicate of investors. Representatives for Dragoneer and Thrive didn't respond to requests for comment. Spokespeople for OpenAI and SoftBank declined to comment. All three firms are existing OpenAI backers. Allowing employees to sell shares is an important tool for startups trying to retain top talent, without requiring the company to go public or be acquired. In some cases, early investors also use these deals to sell down their stakes, though OpenAI investors are not eligible to do so in this round, according to a person familiar with the matter. Current and former employees who spent at least two years at the company are able to participate. With its participation in the share sale, as well as its previous commitments, SoftBank is making a pivotal bet on the success of OpenAI. In addition to those deals, the Japanese conglomerate headed by Masayoshi Son recently closed a separate $1 billion purchase of OpenAI employee shares at a $300 billion valuation, according to a person familiar with the matter. Negotiations for that deal started before talks around the $500 billion secondary valuation began, they said. The $500 billion valuation would make OpenAI the world's most valuable startup, surpassing Elon Musk's SpaceX. The company expects revenue to triple this year to $12.7 billion, up from $3.7 billion in 2024, Bloomberg has reported. And the secondary deal talks come on the heels of the release of its highly-anticipated GPT-5 model. This week, OpenAI chief Sam Altman sat down with a group of reporters and shared his vision for the company, including that it wants to spend trillions of dollars on the infrastructure required to run AI services in the 'not very distant future.' 'You should expect a bunch of economists to wring their hands and say, 'This is so crazy, it's so reckless,' and whatever,' Altman said. 'And we'll just be like, 'You know what? Let us do our thing.''
Mint
13 hours ago
- Mint
Dollar slips as data keep September rate cut on table; eyes on Trump-Putin meeting
NEW YORK -The dollar eased on Friday as a data-heavy week wound down, keeping the case for a September Federal Reserve interest rate cut intact, while traders awaited talks in Alaska between Donald Trump and Vladimir Putin regarding Ukraine. The dollar, which had jumped on Thursday as data showed U.S. producer prices increased more than expected in July, gave up most of those gains on Friday, and was set to finish the week 0.5% lower against a basket of currencies. "The PPI figure yesterday was a shock, but there is still little concrete evidence for a tariff-driven spike in inflation," Kyle Chapman, forex markets analyst at Ballinger & Co in London, said. "With markets staying firm on their bets for a September cut and the focus now shifting to Alaska, the dollar is handing back its gains this morning," Chapman added. Money markets reflect a 93% chance of a 25-basis-point Fed rate cut in September, according to CME FedWatch. A Fed interest rate cut in September, the first this year, followed perhaps by another before year-end, remains the base forecast for most economists polled by Reuters amid rising concerns about the health of the world's biggest economy. Chicago Federal Reserve Bank President Austan Goolsbee on Friday said the latest reports this week showing a rise in services inflation are a source of "unease" given what he sees as the stagflationary impulse from tariffs on the economy. On Friday, investors were also watching to see if the Trump-Putin summit made any progress towards a ceasefire in Ukraine. "While anything could happen at the meeting between Trump and Putin, I think expectations are low for progress towards a lasting ceasefire and that tilts the risks towards a softer dollar if the market is pleasantly surprised," Ballinger's Chapman said. Most analysts expect Europe's single currency to benefit from any ceasefire deal in Ukraine. The euro was 0.5% higher at $1.1708 versus the dollar. The dollar found little support on Friday from data that showed U.S. import prices rebounded in July, boosted by higher costs for consumer goods. Separately, U.S. retail sales increased solidly in July, boosted by strong demand for motor vehicles as well as promotions by Amazon and Walmart. Markets also await next week's Jackson Hole symposium for clues on the Fed's next move. Signs of weakness in the U.S. labour market combined with any inflation from trade tariffs could present a dilemma for the Fed's rate cut trajectory. "Recession risks remain low, but I think it's wise for the Fed to shift to a more neutral stance and cut rates in coming meetings," Jeffrey Roach, chief economist for LPL Financial, said in a note. Against the yen, the dollar was 0.5% lower at 146.975 yen, following the release of surprisingly strong Japanese growth data, which showed export volumes held up well against new U.S. tariffs. U.S. Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent's remarks earlier this week that the Bank of Japan could be "behind the curve" in dealing with the risk of inflation proved to be another tailwind for the yen this week. Sterling rose against a weakening dollar on Friday and was set to end the week higher after upbeat economic data and a hawkish rate cut by the Bank of England. The pound was last up 0.3% to $1.35705, taking its gains for the week to 0.9%. Elsewhere, bitcoin and ether rose after dropping about 4% each on Thursday. Bitcoin had at one point touched a record high on Thursday as increasing expectations for easier monetary policy from the Fed added to optimism stemming from a pro-crypto regulatory environment in Washington. This article was generated from an automated news agency feed without modifications to text.
Mint
16 hours ago
- Mint
From cramped Delhi room to 155+ outlets across India, how Blue Tokai overcame FSSAI fake licence scare to brew success
Blue Tokai Coffee Roasters started brewing when founder Matt Chittaranjan moved to Chennai from the US in 2011 for a job opportunity. Around that time, the third wave of coffee was rising globally, focusing on the farm-to-cup concept, transparency and traceability. Inspired by this shift, Chittaranjan wanted to bring a similar 'coffee movement' to India. He noticed that speciality coffee—with all its nuance, freshness, and respect for origin—was nowhere to be found in India. The domestic coffee market was mostly dominated by mass-produced blends and street-side kiosks, where coffee was more of a background beverage than a well-crafted experience. This realization, coupled with his partner Namrata Asthana's support, led them to move to Delhi in 2012 to create what would become Blue Tokai, food aggregator platform Zomato wrote in a blog. Chittaranjan and Asthana began their venture with a straightforward mission: to source high-quality Arabica beans directly from Indian producers, roast them fresh, and introduce people to what coffee could truly be. They started small, using a 500-gram coffee roaster, operating right out of Asthana's family home. By 2013, they launched Blue Tokai's first outlet. Despite the gradual success, they hit their first major roadblock when a consultant gave them a fake Food Safety and Standards Authority of India (FSSAI) licence in Mumbai. Police shut them down and that's when they realised that the brand has some operational gaps. During that troubled time, Shivam Shahi joined in on the journey as the third partner and took on the role of Chief Operating Officer. Chittaranjan believes that'this business wouldn't be where it is without him', as reported by Startup Pedia. In the early days, Blue Tokai knew it was ahead of the curve. 'We didn't hire aggressively until 2023 and worked with a small team in those initial years,' Shahi told Zomato. But things changed significantly after the COVID-19 pandemic. 'That's when the business really took off. We grew 4x after that.' Today, according to the Blue Tokai team, the company's food items, including bestselling items like almond croissant, butter croissant, and mushroom sourdough sandwich, play a big role in its overall growth, in addition to its speciality items like Vietnamese-style iced coffee, cappuccino, and trioccino. Currently, Blue Tokai runs 155+ outlets across eight Indian states and Japan. 'About 95% of our business comes from four big cities: Delhi, Mumbai, Pune, and Bangalore,' Shahi said. The decision to expand internationally was inspired by a steady stream of Japanese visitors at its Sikanderpur outlet. 'We realised they were very particular about taste and valued everything we stood for—quality, origin, stories,' says Shahi. This discovery led to its first overseas café in Japan. While growing, the company made sure to customise its offerings by location. 'In Japan, people prefer darker roasts so we adjust our roasting accordingly.' Additionally, it established an FMCG distribution network in Dubai, driven by growing international interest in Indian coffee. As Blue Tokaiplans to enter new cities, including Hyderabad and Dehradun, the brand continues to dive deeper into the brewing journey. Once started with a 500gm roaster and a few passionate individuals, Blue Tokai has now become a brand which weaves a story with each cup, the blog noted.
