Lynas become world first outside of China

Lynas Rare Earths (ASX: LYC) has commercially produced separated heavy rare earths following its successful production of dysprosium oxide at its Malaysia plant.

This makes the company the only global producer of the products outside of China.

Dysprosium is critical to the production of high-performance magnets used in electric vehicles and wind turbines. Production of the strategic mineral has been affected by China’s recent export restrictions.

Lynas, based in Perth, WA, confirmed the successful production of its first batch of the mineral on Friday. The company currently sources the ore for its refineries from its Mt Weld mine, a rare earth deposit estimated to contain more than 2mt in reserves, located near Kalgoorlie in WA.

Lynas chief executive and managing director Amanda Lacaze comments on the milestone.

“Lynas is pleased to confirm first Dy production on our new production line at Lynas Malaysia,” she said.

“The production of this on spec Dy is a significant step for supply chain resilience and provides customers with the option of sourcing product from an outside China supplier.

“Lynas is now the world’s only commercial producer of separated Heavy Rare Earth products outside China.

‘’Lynas is uniquely positioned to contribute to and benefit from efforts to diversify and rebuild supply chains, including opportunities for a sustained market restructure.

Ms Lacaze says that the company is engaged with customers in Japan, the United States and Europe regarding heavy rare earths supply.

The successful production of the heavy rare earth follows the commissioning of a separation circuit by the company in March.

‘’The development of our new heavy rare earth separation circuit reflects the unique skills and expertise of our people,” Ms Lacaze said.

“I am proud of the team’s achievement in delivering this initial Dy production.”

Successful terbium separation is anticipated in June from the Malaysian refinery.