London, July 17 (Argus) - French rare earth processing and technology developer Carester will provide technology and support to a rare earth plant in Malaysia as part of its effort to supply rare earth separation technology to mining companies, CEO Frederic Carencotte told Argus.
Carester is collaborating with Malaysian mining company Malaco Mining Group to support the construction and ongoing operations of a domestic separation facility.
The French company will offer technical expertise, design, training, and assistance to the Malaysian mining firm once the separation plant begins operations. However, Carester will not be involved in day-to-day operations.
Carester and Malaco aim to utilize in-situ leaching technology for rare earth extraction.
"Our business model is to provide praseodymium-neodymium separation technology to mining companies, enabling resource-rich countries to move downstream along the value chain," Carencotte said in an interview with Argus.
In addition to the partnership in Malaysia, Carester has signed a technology-sharing and engineering agreement with Luxembourg-based Frontier Rare Earths, which operates a project in South Africa, and with Australian company Brazilian Rare Earths, which plans to build a separation plant in Bahia, Brazil, supported by Carester's technology, engineering, and construction services.
Carester aims to become a leader in rare earth recycling and heavy rare earth processing-areas that demand high-quality materials-and intends to remain highly competitive in heavy rare earth separation and recovery.
The company is developing its own rare earth oxide facility in Lacq, France, designed to process recycled permanent magnets and mining concentrates. The Caremag facility will have an annual production capacity of 1,600 tons of rare earth oxides, including 800 tons per year of neodymium-praseodymium, 590 tons per year of dysprosium and terbium oxides. These oxides will be produced from recycling 2,000 tons per year of magnets and 5,000 tons per year of concentrates.
Caremag is scheduled to begin operations in September, with initial production expected in the first quarter of 2026.
The Caremag operation will benefit from support from former players in China's magnet industry. "We expect demand for neodymium-praseodymium to continue growing as magnet production increases. Demand growth for dysprosium and terbium will be lower than for neodymium-praseodymium," Carencotte said.
In 2024, automaker Stellantis committed to purchasing over 3,400 tons of neodymium, praseodymium, dysprosium, and terbium oxides over ten years.
Japan's state-owned energy agency JOGMEC and metal importer Iwatani jointly invested in Carester in 2025 to secure long-term supply contracts.
