August 18, 2023

NEWS RELEASE ｗｗｗ.jogmec.go.jp
Japan Organization for Metals and Energy Security
Division in Charge： International Affairs Division Metals Strategy
Department Tel: +81-3-6758-8027
PR in Charge: Public Relations Division
Tel: +81-3-6758-8106

JOGMEC Signed an agreement with African countries
to secure critical minerals- Strengthening relationships with African countries
through accompanying Minister NISIMURA on a visit to Southern African countries Japan Organization for Metals and Energy Security (JOGMEC) accompanied Mr. NISHIMURA Yasutoshi,
Minister of Economy, Trade and Industry (METI) on a visit to Southern African countries (Republic ofNamibia, Republic of Angola, Democratic Republic of Congo, Republic of Zambia, and Republic ofMadagascar) and signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) in Republic of Zambia, and Scope ofWork (SW) in Republic of Namibia and Democratic Republic of Congo in order to secure critical minerals.
In Republic of Zambia, with the aim of creating investment opportunities for Japanese companies in themining sector, JOGMEC, Ministry of Economy, Trade and Industry (METI) , and Government of theRepublic of Zambia jointly invited Japanese companies to hold a business roundtable.

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Republic of Namibia (August 8, 2023)(left-to-right) Mr. NISHIMURA Yasutoshi, Minister of METI, Mr. TAKAHARA Ichiro, JOGMEC Chairman& CEO, SHIVOLO, Deputy Executive Director (signer on behalf of Executive Director), ALWEENDO,
Minister of Mines and Energy

1Mr. TAKAHARA, JOGMEC Chairman & CEO, attended the meeting between Mr. NISHIMURA, Ministerof METI and Mr. ALWEENDO, Minister of Mines and Energy of the Republic of Namibia, and Ms.
IIPUMBU, Minister of Industrialization and Trade of the Republic of Namibia, and presented JOGMEC'sview on “Research on the Namibian Rare Earth Metals Supply Chain”. During the meeting, JOGMEC
signed a SW for this research with the Ministry of Mines and Energy in the presence of Mr. NISHIMURAand Mr. ALWEENDO.
JOGMEC has been participating in the Lofdal Project of Namibia Critical Metals Inc. (Canada) sinceJanuary 2020, and is currently implementing a rare earth exploration project in Namibia. In addition, atTICAD 8 held in Tunisia in August 2022, JOGMEC signed an MOU with the Ministry of Mines andEnergy of Namibia for cooperation in supply chain research to promote the development of rare earths,training in metallic mineral resource exploration technology using satellite images and geographic
information systems, joint analysis, and field surveys.
Under the SW based on the MOU, JOGMEC will conduct research that examines the possibility ofNamibia becoming a hub for the rare earth industry in Namibia and neighboring countries considering
the establishment of the concentration and separation facility in Namibia for ore extracted in Namibia
and neighboring countries. The results will contribute to the "Namibia Rare Earth Industry Master Plan".

2.

Democratic Republic of Congo (August 10, 2023)(left-to-right) Mr. TAKAHARA Ichiro, JOGMEC Chairman & CEO, Mr. NISHIMURA Yasutoshi, Minister ofMETI, Mr. MOTEMONA, Deputy Minister of Mines, TAMBWE Deputy Coordinator(signer)2

Mr. TAKAHARA, JOGMEC Chairman & CEO attended the meeting between Minister NISHIMURA ofMETI and Mr. MOTEMONA, Deputy Minister of Mines, and signed a SW for strengthening support on
the exploration sector and environmental monitoring based on the MOU signed in February 2012 in thepresence of Minister NISHIMURA and Deputy Minister MOTEMONA. Bearing in mind that mining
investments based on high ESG standards will be promoted globally in the future, the addition of newtechnical support for environmental monitoring was made to the SW signed in 2018 on cooperation insatellite image analysis and joint implementation of field surveys.

The meeting and the signing of this SW have made concrete the content of cooperation with the country,
which is rich in cobalt, lithium, and copper expected to see a rapid increase in demand in the future as
key materials for electric vehicles.

3.

Republic of Zambia(1) Signing ceremony (August 11, 2023)(left-to-right) Mr. NISHIMURA Yasutoshi, Minister of METI,
Mr. TAKAHARA Ichiro, JOGMEC Chairman & CEO,MWILA, Director of Ministry of Mines and MineralsDevelopment Geological Survey Department of Zambia(signer),
KABUSWE, Minister of Mines and Minerals Development of Zambia
At the Japan-Zambia Mining Investment Roundtable, described below, Mr. TAKAHARA, JOGMEC
Chairman & CEO signed an MOU with Ministry of Mines and Mineral Development of Zambia forstrengthening cooperation in the field of exploration in the presence of Minister NISHIMURA and3

Minister KABUSWE.
This MOU updates the MOU signed in 2018 on cooperation in the field of exploration and humanresource development with new additions such as holding seminars on sustainable development
and assessing the potential of unutilized resources. In addition, the MOU strengthens the cooperative
relationship with the country aiming to achieve an annual copper production of 3 million tons, byproposing the implementation of satellite image analysis using HISUI, a high-performance sensor
onboard a state-of-the-art satellite, and the expansion of the area covered by the joint geologicalsurvey to the country.

(2) Japan - Zambia Mining Investment Roundtable and the site visit (August 10 and 11, 2023)

The round table in Zambia

JOGMEC co-hosted the Japan-Zambia Mining Investment Roundtable with METI and Ministry ofMines and Mineral Development of Zambia. 11 Japanese companies, 1 local Japanese company
and JICA participated in the roundtable. The presentation by the Ministry of Mines and Mineral
Development of Zambia provided information on investment opportunities in Zambia, mining policy,taxation, investment incentives, debt restructuring, and cobalt mineralization in the Copperbelt.
Following the presentations, the Japanese end introduced each company and explained theiractivities in Africa, which was followed by a lively exchange of views and opinions to deepen
understanding of mining investment in Zambia.

4The site visit (Sentinel Copper Mine in the background)

JOGMEC conducted site visit with 11 Japanese companies with the aim of deepening Japanesecompanies' understanding of mines operations and investment environment of Zambia at the Sentinelcopper mine and the Enterprise Nickel project of First Quantum Minerals Ltd.

Furthermore, JOGMEC accompanied Minister NISHIMURA to Angola and Madagascar, and attended abusiness roundtable on the country's infrastructure in Angola and exchanged views on future explorationcooperation with Mr. RAKOTOMALALA Minister of Mine and Strategic Resource in Madagascar.

JOGMEC will continue to support African resource diplomacy with METI and further strengthen relations
with African countries in order to ensure a stable supply of metal mineral resources to Japan.

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