This news release originally appeared on the Government of Saskatchewan website.
Today the Government of Saskatchewan, via the Saskatchewan Research Council (SRC), and Star Group Ind. Co., Ltd. signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) for cooperation in further developing the rare earth element (REE) supply chain in Saskatchewan.
The signing ceremony was held at Star Group’s permanent magnet manufacturing plant in South Korea during the Honourable Jeremy Harrison’s current mission to southeast Asia.
“Global engagement is a key part of reaching Saskatchewan’s goal of becoming a rare earth hub through our Government’s $51 million dollar investment into the SRC Rare Earth Processing Facility,” Minister Responsible for SRC Jeremy Harrison said. “This MOU shows the significant international reach that this Facility already has and the strength of Saskatchewan in the global market.”
The MOU lays the framework for a collaborative and strategic approach to cooperation through various key components including technology sharing, technology development and/or commercial product sale.
“SRC and Saskatchewan are positioned to complete the REE value chain in the coming decade by expanding into permanent magnet manufacturing,” SRC President and CEO Mike Crabtree said. “We are excited about the opportunities this MOU could bring for this expansion and are looking forward to continuing to work collaboratively with Star Group.”
Star Group is a manufacturer of high-performance Nd-Fe-B permanent magnets. With extensive knowledge of magnetic materials, Star Group has specialized in high performance Nd-Fe-B magnet producing for more than 30 years. As part of Star Group’s new strategy of supply chain management, it has constructed a new magnet manufacturing plant in Korea – which is the one and only integrated Nd-Fe-B magnet manufacturing facility in Korea.
SRC is constructing North America’s first fully integrated, commercial demonstration Rare Earth Processing Facility, with hydrometallurgy, separation and metal smelting stages which is expected to be fully operational and selling its products to the market in 2024.
SRC is Canada’s second largest research and technology organization. With over 350 employees, $277 million in annual revenue and 75 years of experience, SRC provides services and products to its 1,400 clients in 23 countries around the world.
