July 13, 2009
Greenwood Village, Colorado and Rochester, New York – Molycorp Minerals, LLC (“Molycorp”) and Arnold Magnetic Technologies Corporation (“Arnold”) announced today 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.” Tim Wilson, CEO of Arnold added, “The 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.”