Lynas Rare Earths chair Kathleen Conlon steps down

The news: Rare earths producer Lynas says its chair Kathleen Conlon will retire at the end of the group's annual general meeting on 29 November.

The numbers: Conlon has been a non-executive director on the Lynas board for 12 years, including three years as chair. She will be replaced by John Humphrey, who has been on the board since May 2017.

The context: Conlon had noted last year that this would be her final term and on Tuesday said it is the right time to commence an orderly transition. Lynas, which is the world’s biggest supplier of rare earths outside of China, posted a drop in full-year net profit in August. The miner is racing to complete a downstream processing plant in Western Australia by the year-end, even as it faces onerous licence conditions at its processing facility in Malaysia.