JS Link America plans to invest US$223 million ($341.46 million) to establish a new rare earth permanent magnet manufacturing facility in Columbus, which will create more than 520 new jobs in Muscogee County, Georgia.
The 130,000 square-foot facility is predicted to have an annual production capacity of 3,000 tons, with operations expected to begin in late 2027.
JS Link will be hiring for engineering, production, construction, administrative, and management roles.
The company is currently nearing completion on a similar permanent magnet facility in Yesan, Korea, which has an anticipated pilot production run in September 2025 and annual capacity of 1,000 tons.
CEO Jun Y. Lee says JS Link plans to be a part of a value chain focused entirely on western nations to meet the growing demand for permanent magnet sourced from strategic allies such as Korea.
“This new chain will cover the entire process, from the procurement of essential rare earth materials to the final manufacturing of the magnets,” Lee says.
Permanent magnets are used in a range of applications across many industries. Due to generating a magnetic field without needing any external energy input, permanent magnets are able to be used in power generation through electric motors and wind turbines, home and office electronic devices, and in transportation such as electric vehicles.
As China continues to leverage its dominant position in the rare earths market, efforts are underway to restructure the global supply chain. China holds over 80% of the global permanent magnet market.
In 2021, the US had the most magnet imports from China, totalling 6,656.81 tons, followed by Germany which had 6,497.34 tons.
JS Link America is a wholly owned subsidiary of JS Link (KOSDAQ:127120), which is a Korean company aimed to evolve the global rare earths value chain.
Write to Aaliyah Rogan at Mining.com.au
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