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Title:
Australia points to holes in US rare earth supply chain
Text:
Australia highlighted just how vulnerable the US is in the area of rare earths in an attempt to attract more investment to the local industry.A report from the Morrison government outlines how reliant the US has become on China in rare earths and exposes gaping holes in the supply chain for the materials that are becoming increasingly important in electric vehicles, electronics and military applications.
The report comes as Lynas, the biggest supplier of rare earths outside China, edges closer to making an official call on building a first stage processing plant next door to BHP’s Nickel West operations outside Kalgoorlie in Western Australia.
The Morrsion government has put a heavy focus on downstream investment in rare earths and other so-called critical minerals processing since their supply emerged as a flashpoint in the trade war between Washington and Beijing.Trade Minister Simon Birmingham said Australia could play a key role in supplying the US with high-value finished products.
“The challenge now is continuing to develop the downstream and high-value activities right here in Australia so products can be produced in our own backyard and then exported to the rest of the world," he said.“This report shows there are huge export opportunities for Australian critical minerals producers in markets such as the US where there are clear gaps in the supply chain."Senator Birmingham said Australian companies should be looking to produce alloys, metals and petrochemicals for the US market.Lynas is the only non-Chinese supplier of any scale for rare earth materials such as neodymium and praseodymium (NdPr) used in permanent magnets, In partnership with Blue Line Corporation, the company is working on plans to develop a heavy rare earth separation capacity at a plant in Texas.
The Critical Minerals Supply Chain in the US report highlights that the US has no heavy rare earth separation capacity and no large-scale commercial facilities for alloying rare earths, an essential preparatory stage for manufacturing.The report estimates the US market for rare-earth permanent magnets is about 10,000 tonnes a year.However, rare earth permanent magnets are only manufactured in the US by a handful of small specialty companies using metals and alloys of rare earths sourced from China and cobalt from the Democratic Republic of the Congo.
"As such, activity is now largely limited to the final manufacturing phase, leaving US end-users dependent on offshore supply chains," the report said."Companies such as Adams Magnetic Products, Arnold Magnetics, Electron Energy Corp and Eutectix have the capacity to produce magnets from neodymium iron boron and samarium cobalt. However, these companies have either shifted production offshore to reduce costs or are only able to produce small runs of magnets that cannot compete with the scale of other manufacturers."
US President Donald Trump made developing non-Chinese supply chains a top priority in July when he cleared the way for the Department of Defence to fund rare earth technology and resources.Mr Trump said it was essential for US defence to have domestic production capability to separate and process light and heavy rare-earth materials as well as to make permanent magnets.
The Australian Financial Review reported in May that Lynas would have the might of the US military onside as it looked to develop rare-earths processing capacity in Texas.The company currently sends heavy earths to China for separation while emerging producer Northern Minerals has a pilot heavy rare earths plant at its mine in WA.Minerals Council of Australia chief executive Tania Constable said there was huge potential to increase Australia’s trade and investment through rare earths and critical minerals deposits.“Australia is well positioned to extract and export the critical minerals the world needs for faster, smaller and more powerful technology," she said.“Australia has pioneered new advances in extractive technologies and is ideally placed to lead the growth of critical minerals globally."
source: AFR on Tuesday, 1 Oct 2019
https://www.copyright link/companies/mining/australia-points-to-holes-in-us-rare-earth-supply-chain-20190930-p52wa3
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