Australia Lynas to Build Rare Earths Plant in US

Australia-Malaysia rare earths producer Lynas has entered into an agreement with the US government to build a commercial light rare earth separation plant in America. Lynas is the largest non-Chinese producer of separated rare earth products and there are several other companies with smaller separation facilities operating in Europe and the Asia-Pacific region. The second largest non-Chinese producer is Toronto-based Neo Performance Materials, which has plants in Europe and Asia-Pacific.

In July 2020, the US Department of Defense expressed its intention to award the first phase of the contract for heavy rare earth separation facility in the United States. The first phase of funding will enable Lynas and its joint venture partner Blue Line to complete detailed planning and design work on the construction of heavy rare earth separation facilities, which may promote the commercial production and operation of heavy rare earths in the United States. This follows the company’s agreement with the United States Department of Defense to deliver phase one work on a heavy rare earth separation facility in the United States.

The plant will be located in Texas, with an estimated annual output of rare earths of approximately 5,000 tons, including around 1250 tonnes a year of neodymium-praseodymium (NdPr). The plant will process material that is directly sourced from a cracking and leaching plant under development in Kalgoorlie, Western Australia.

The company announced to shareholders on January 22 that the detailed cost of the project is still being finalized. The U.S. Department of Defense's funding ceiling may be US$30 million, and the company is expected to provide approximately US$30 million under the agreement.

Amanda Lacaze, CEO and General Manager of Lynas, said that as the only non-Chinese rare earth producer in the global market, the company is very pleased to have the opportunity to develop light rare earth separation equipment in the United States. Part of Sri Lanka's 2025 plan.

Amanda Lacaze believes that rare earths are key materials in many industrial chains, including electric vehicles, electronic products and national defense. While demand for rare earth materials continues to grow, Covid-19 has exposed the risks within the global supply chains of the single sourcing of critical materials

The cooperation agreement between Lynas and the US government is in line with the development direction of America to rebuild the domestic industrial base. The Texas plant will ensure that America has a safe and stable supply of high-quality separated rare earths materials, which will provide special metal manufacturing and permanent magnet production in North America. And other downstream industries provide an important foundation.

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