Malaysian Prime Minister Anwar Ibrahim announced the construction of a 600 million ringgit ($142 million) super magnet manufacturing facility in Pahang, describing it as a key step toward strengthening Malaysia’s rare earth sector, according to state media reports.
In July, Australia’s Lynas Rare Earths and South Korea’s JS Link signed an agreement to develop a 3,000-tonne neodymium magnet manufacturing plant near Lynas’ advanced materials facility in Kuantan district, Pahang. The initiative, Anwar said, has moved beyond preliminary discussions. “JS Link has already purchased the land and wants to begin operations, so this is no longer a memorandum of understanding,” he stated, adding that “the investment is in, the land is ready, so this is about accelerating the process.”
Anwar said Malaysia’s trade minister will oversee the project, given its involvement in rare-earth processing. The collaboration, he added, will position Malaysia more competitively in the advanced materials and clean technology industries while supporting efforts to develop a complete critical minerals supply chain.
According to government estimates, Malaysia holds approximately 16.1 million metric tons of rare earth deposits, but the country currently lacks the technology needed for efficient mining and processing. To address this gap, the government is encouraging foreign investment and technology-sharing partnerships to build domestic capabilities in the rare earth value chain.
Rare earth elements are vital in modern manufacturing, particularly for electric vehicles, semiconductors, and defense technologies such as missile systems. Malaysia has also been engaged in talks with China on rare-earth processing and, in October, signed a cooperation agreement with the United States to diversify its critical minerals supply chains.
Featured image credits: Wikimedia Commons
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