https://www.news.com.au/technology/...a/news-story/ff6bf117ef94a0282d2cf0300c93c2393 min read
May 18, 2025 - 12:13PM
Little-known Aussie company takes on ChinaThe brutal trade war between China and the United States has hit a number of industries, but 31 critical minerals, including rare earth elements, were exempted from the tariffs.
Yet China has another headache on its hands with one Aussie company muscling into the lucrative industry.
Lynas Rare Earths is an Australian rare-earths mining company with two major operations – a mining and concentration plant at Mount Weld in Western Australia and the Lynas Advanced Materials Plant in Kuantan, Malaysia.
The company has now become the first producer of heavy rare earths outside of China following the successful production of dysprosium at its Malaysia plant as demand for the mineral soars.
Dysprosium produces high-performance magnets for electric vehicles, wind turbines, and hard drives, and also plays a role in nuclear reactors and certain medical applications.
Export restrictions in China have tightly controlled the rare material, but the strategy is about to be blown up.
Lynas Rare Earths CEO and managing director Amanda Lacaze said the production of the rare mineral 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,” she said.
“Lynas is uniquely positioned to contribute to and benefit from efforts to diversify and rebuild supply chains, including opportunities for a sustained market restructure. We are engaged with customers in Japan, the United States and Europe regarding heavy rare earths supply.”
Pricing for the new heavy rare earths products is expected to be at a “premium” compared with prices in China due to high Western demand, according to the company, while the company is currently valued at $7.2 billion.
(20min delay)