Japan's Sojitz begins importing heavy rare earths from Australia.

Jin10 Data reported on October 30th that Japan's Sojitz Corporation announced on Thursday that it has begun importing heavy rare earths from Australia's Lynas Rare Earths. This marks the first time heavy rare earths have been extracted from Australian ore and exported to Japan after being separated and refined in Malaysia. The company declined to disclose the quantity or price of the imports. As early as 2011, Sojitz signed an exclusive sales agreement with the state-owned Japan Metals and Energy Security Organization to supply light rare earths (such as neodymium) used in magnets to the Japanese market. Since then, they have made multiple investments in Lynas and provided financing.