Biden doubles Lynas funding to more than $300m

afr.com:

Lynas has hadits US government funding more than doubled as the Biden administration accelerates its mission to secure supplies of rare earths.

The Defence Department will now contribute $US258 million ($384 million) toward construction of Lynas’ heavy rare earths refinery in Texas, up from the initial pledge of $US120 million in June 2022.

Lynas said the extra money would reimburse it for construction costs.

Lynas is the only key supplier of rare earths outside of China. Bloomberg

It is the third time Lynas has announced US government support; in January 2021, the company told investors it expected to receive $US30 million from the Defence Department for construction of a light rare earths refinery in the country.

Lynas’flagship products are neodymium and praseodymium, which are often labelled light rare earths and are needed to make the permanent magnets that go into car engines and wind turbines, among other products. But governments outside China, particularly the US, are increasingly keen to secure supply of heavy rare earths like terbium and dysprosium, which are almost exclusively made in China and are important for many defence applications, including night vision goggles and fighter jets.

The $US258 million of government money is specifically tied to Lynas’ vow to build a heavy rare earths facility in Texas beside its light rare earths refinery.

“This project will be the only scale producer of heavy separated rare earths outside of China,” said Lynas chief Amanda Lacaze in a statement on Tuesday.

The feedstock for Lynas’ new refinery in the US will come from the same place as Lynas’ existing Malaysian separation plant gets its feedstock; the Mt Weld mine in Western Australia. The Australian ore will be shipped