Lynas Rare Earths announces $180m rare earths separation facility expansion
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The news: Lynas Rare Earths plans to expand its processing plant in Malaysia with the establishment of a new heavy rare earth separation facility, which is currently the only non-China location with this capability.
The numbers: The project will cost about $180 million and will be fully funded by the company following a $750 million equity raise and share purchase plan worth $182 million.
The new facility expects to have a processing capacity to separate up to 5,000 tonnes per annum of heavy rare earth feedstock.
The context: The project timeline is subject to regulatory approvals and Lynas is “in discussions with a range of offtake partners to secure offtake of the expanded range of HRE products at fair prices”.
Phased construction will be undertaken, with first production of samarium from Lynas’ Mt Weld mine in Western Australia in April 2026. Additional processing capacity will then be added over a two year period.
This will initially include samarium, gadolinium, dysprosium, terbium, and lutetium. Additional investment to add europium, holmium, ytterbium and erbium will depend on "commercial agreements that provide an appropriate return".
What they said: “The new Heavy Rare Earths processing facility at Lynas Malaysia is a key element of our Towards 2030 growth strategy and contributes to the strength of our multi-product offering,” Lynas CEO and managing director Amanda Lacaze said.
“Market demand for heavy rare earths is high and Lynas can be selective in where, and at what price, we sell heavy rare earth oxides.”
The source: ASX
