Australia to Build "One-Stop" Rare Earth Production Chain

Australia and the US have launched an ambitious project to create a supply chain for rare earth that does not involve China, an effort that has drawn strong market interest but could face cost obstacles. According to Nikkei, TOKYO report.

Australia is ready to strive for greater influence in the international rare earth elements (REEs) market. the antagonism between the United States, Australia and China has become more obvious in the field of rare earths. Lynas, an Australian REEs development company, with the financial support of the US Department of Defense, is preparing to cooperate with US companies to establish a factory capable of producing and processing heavy REEs in Texas.

The funds provided by the US Department of Defense will be used for market and strategic research. And related design and construction of the factory. At the same time, Australian companies are also trying to build a more complete industry chain to compete with Chinese companies that currently dominate the world.

According to the report, in addition to obtaining financial support from the United States, Arafura Resources, which is engaged in the development of rare earth mines, will build a "one-stop production system" from ore mining to REE extraction and separation as early as 2024 to achieve a share of China.

The purpose of the industrial chain. In the context of Australian intention to promote the localization of rare earths, Arafura received government support and formulated a plan to invest about 80 million Australian dollars in the construction and operation of waste storage facilities in the future.

According to the Australian financial website Smallcaps, the mixture of neodymium rich in rare earth deposits in Australia is a kind of REEs, which is essential for the manufacture of high-strength permanent magnets. They will be used in the manufacture of electric vehicle transmission systems.

As the revolution accelerates, the automobile industry will need more and more miners. Arafura announced in February that it had used the Australian government's research facilities to conduct experiments on the separation of REEs, neodymium and praseodymium and was successful. The company’s marketing executives said they are negotiating with Japanese companies that produce neodymium magnets, and European organizations responsible for the supply chain of automobiles and wind power are also potential customers.

The Australian Broadcasting Corporation cited data from the US Geological Survey that China's REE reserves account for 36% of the world's known reserves, but REE processing output accounts for 70% of the world. Rare earths are often associated with many other elements. Only by refining and separating technology can we obtain REE products with higher purity, and a large amount of toxic waste water, waste gas and useless tailings will be produced during the production process.

"Nihon Keizai Shimbun" believes that due to waste management and other issues, many countries have entrusted China to extract and separate rare earth. In this field, China's technology and cost are extremely competitive, and it is hard for Australia to be independent.

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