KAP Minerals and Hanwa Forge Strategic Partnership to Strengthen Canada-Japan Critical Minerals Supply Chain

The Agreement Positions Northern Ontario Project as Key Allied Offtake Source of Phosphate and Rare Earth Materials for Defense, Battery, Automotive and Advanced Manufacturing Industries

Kapuskasing, Ontario and Tokyo, Japan--(Newsfile Corp. - May 12, 2026) - KAP Minerals Inc. ("KAP"), a Canadian critical minerals company and Hanwa Co., Ltd. ("Hanwa"), one of Japan's leading global trading and industrial materials companies, today announced the signing of a Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) to advance a strategic partnership focused on offtake supply and the development of downstream critical minerals supply chains between Canada and Japan.

The agreement establishes a framework for negotiating long-term offtake and commercial collaboration. In the first phase, Hanwa would purchase and distribute phosphate and rare earth element (REE) concentrate production from KAP's Northern Ontario project. In the second phase, the companies will collaborate to establish processing capacity in Ontario, including the production and distribution of purified phosphoric acid (PPA) and the additional supply of phosphate and rare earth concentrates.

The collaboration aims to support the rapidly growing demand for materials essential for defense, lithium-ion batteries, robotics, advanced electronics, and aerospace manufacturing, sectors where supply chains are currently heavily concentrated in a few jurisdictions.

The partnership also reflects the deepening strategic cooperation between Canada and Japan on critical minerals security, an issue central to the industrial policies of G7 economies amid rising geopolitical competition and supply chain vulnerabilities.

The KAP project is designed to redevelop the historic Agrium phosphate mine and tailings complex near Kapuskasing, ON into a multi-product critical minerals platform. The project will initially produce 70,000-100,000 tonnes per year of phosphate product, followed by approximately 450,000 tonnes per year of high-grade phosphate concentrate alongside rare earth concentrates and other critical minerals used in defense and advanced manufacturing supply chains.

Through the agreement, Hanwa will leverage its extensive global distribution network and long-standing relationships with battery manufacturers, automotive companies, magnet producers, and advanced materials firms across the world to develop downstream supply chains for the project's products.

The companies will also explore collaboration on the establishment of midstream processing in Ontario, including technical cooperation in Phase 2 of the project, and engage with Japanese and Canadian government institutions and private sector entities.

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