ROCHESTER, NEW YORK(Commodity Online): Molycorp Minerals, LLC (“Molycorp”) and Arnold Magnetic Technologies Corporation (“Arnold”) announced on Thursday that they have signed a Letter of Intent to form a Joint Venture for the production of Rare Earth magnets in the United States. Details of the proposed Joint Venture were not disclosed.

Mark A. Smith, CEO of Molycorp said, “We are very excited to be working with Arnold, one of the world’s leading magnet producers, to complete what will be a key step in Molycorp’s strategy of going from mining to magnets. This Joint Venture with Arnold will provide Molycorp with access to the technology, people and facilities to take the rare earth materials produced by Molycorp at its Mountain Pass, California operation and convert them into the high performance permanent magnets required for the production of hybrid and electric cars, wind power turbines, high-tech applications and numerous advanced defense systems, on which our nation’s economy, security and future depend.”
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Tim Wilson, CEO of Arnold added, “This strategic alliance between Arnold and Molycorp will re-establish the capacity to produce Rare Earth magnets in the United States to meet increasing future market demands. We look forward to collaborating with Molycorp in the production of Rare Earth magnets and are extremely proud to be participating in a joint venture that supports the nation’s clean energy initiatives.”

Molycorp Minerals, LLC, with headquarters in Greenwood Village, Colorado, is a private, U.S. rare earth producer and technology company. As the owner of the world’s most abundant rare earth deposit outside of China, and a leader in rare earth technology, Molycorp Minerals supplies a variety of rare earth materials that are critical to emerging Green Energy technologies, High-Tech applications and numerous Defense Systems. As the leading western supplier, Molycorp Minerals markets rare earth materials from its world class rare earth deposit in Mountain Pass, California. In addition, Molycorp Minerals maintains a joint venture with Sumitomo Metals, called Sumikin Molycorp, which markets rare earth products in Asia and produces permanent magnet materials in Japan.

Arnold Magnetic Technologies Corporation, with headquarters in Rochester, New York, is a private company with six facilities in the United States producing permanent and bonded magnets, precision assemblies, reprographic assemblies, lectromagnets and ultra-thin foils for magnetic and non-magnetic applications. In addition, Arnold has facilities in Europe and Asia producing similar products as well as soft magnetic powder cores. With more than a 100 year history, Arnold serves a wide range of customers and markets, a company release said. (Businesswire)