Lynas' First Heavy Rare Earth Oxide Product: Dysprosium Oxide

On May 16, 2025, Australian company Lynas announced that its new production line in Malaysia successfully produced dysprosium oxide, marking its first heavy rare earth oxide product. The successful mass production of dysprosium oxide represents a critical step forward in Lynas’ rare earth supply chain development, significantly enhancing its supply chain resilience and opening a new overseas supply pathway for the global rare earth market. Notably, the raw material for this batch of dysprosium oxide comes from the Mt Weld rare earth deposit—a large, high-grade overseas rare earth site—whose abundant reserves and quality ore provide a solid resource foundation for Lynas’ dysprosium oxide production.

The Mt Weld rare earth deposit is the cornerstone for Lynas’ capacity expansion in the coming years. Located in Western Australia, it is one of the largest and highest-grade rare earth deposits overseas, capable of producing high-quality rare earth concentrates. Beyond rare earths, the deposit also contains valuable co-products like niobium, tantalum, and phosphorus, and is pided into the Central Landside Deposit (CLD) and Duncan Deposit, renowned for their high grades. Since production began in 2013, its capacity has grown from 11,000 tons (REO)/year to 22,000 tons (REO)/year; the CLD segment contains 97.15% light rare earths, with neodymium content reaching 18.13%. In 2022, Lynas announced a capacity expansion at Mt Weld to produce raw concentrate for 12,000 tons of NdPr finished product annually by 2024, with plans for two additional fracture zones, each adding 2,400 tons/year equivalent of praseodymium-neodymium.

Dysprosium oxide, an oxide of dysprosium and a heavy rare earth compound, appears as a white or pale yellow powder with a melting point of approximately 2,340°C, a relative density of 7.81 g/cm³, insolubility in water, solubility in inorganic acids, and stable chemical properties. It exhibits strong paramagnetism and unique magneto-optical effects. As a key additive in neodymium-iron-boron permanent magnets, it raises the Curie temperature and thermal stability, finding wide use in electric vehicle motors, wind turbine generators, and high-end electronic devices. It is also used to manufacture magneto-optical storage materials and modulators, leveraging its magneto-optical effects for high-density data storage and optical signal control. When incorporated into alloys, it enhances high-temperature resistance and corrosion resistance, benefiting aerospace components. Additionally, it serves as a phosphor activator for infrared luminescent materials or as a dopant in laser crystals, such as dysprosium glass lasers, expanding optical applications.

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