Lynas: Australia’s first rare earths processing plant opens

Federal Resources Minister Madeleine King has officially opened the Lynas Rare Earths (ASX: LYC) processing plant in Kalgoorlie, WA.

The new Lynas plant will create around 115 direct jobs in the Goldfields region by processing ores from the nearby Mt Weld mine to create a mixed rare earth carbonate.

This facility is globally significant, as it will be the first rare earths processing facility in Australia, and the largest outside of China.

The $800m large-scale facility was delivered in less than two and a half years from the receipt of full construction approvals.

Minister King says the plant opening is an important step for Australia’s critical minerals industry and the Federal Government’s ambitions of growing the nation’s downstream processing capabilities.

“This opening is a big deal for Kalgoorlie, a huge deal for WA and a massive step for Australia,” she said.

“Processing more of our critical minerals and rare earths here in this country is a big part of the Federal Government’s plans for Building Australia’s Future.

“Projects like the Lynas Rare Earths Processing Facility will deliver direct economic benefits to Australia while strengthening our sovereign capability.”

Lynas Rare Earths chief executive and managing director Amanda Lacaze says this is an ambitious project which establishes downstream rare earths processing in Australia for the first time.

“It was a foundational project for our Lynas 2025 growth strategy and a significant financial investment for Lynas and our shareholders,” she said.

“We have created a state-of-the-art rare earths processing facility and a new, future facing industry for the City of Kalgoorlie-Boulder.

“To construct, commission and bring into production a facility of this scale in just over two and a half years is truly remarkable.

“The facility is fully commissioned and producing and we have a great production team in place.

“As the only significant ex-China producer of separated rare earths, Lynas plays an important role in the global rare earths supply chain.

“The mixed rare earth carbonate produced in Kalgoorlie is shipped to our Malaysian facility for separation into individual products, and in future will supply our planned U.S. facility.”

Critical minerals and rare earths elements are essential for clean energy technologies such as electric vehicles, solar panels and wind turbines.