Lynas seeking new mines, leaving nothing to waste
Kalgoorlie | Lynas Rare Earths is looking for acquisitions to capitalise on the needs of its customers, including the US Department of Defense, which are anxious to wean themselves off China products.
Managing director Amanda Lacaze said Lynas was constantly being pitched M&A opportunities and might consider buying one or more of the ionic clay-based rare earths projects that have sprung up in Australia.
The attraction of clay deposits is that they are high in what are known as heavy rare earths, and one of the requirements of Washington DC in backing Lynas to the tune of almost $400 million already is that it can supply heavy rare earths.
Lynas Rare Earths managing director Amanda Lacaze speaking at the Diggers & Dealers conference.
The US military last week doubled support for Lynas to build a downstream processing plant in Texas in what has been touted as its first investment in large-scale rare earths production since World War II’s Manhattan Project that built the atomic bomb.
Lynas is also eyeing clay deposits in Malaysia, where it is trying to convince the government to extend its downstream operating licence beyond December 31, and in South America.
In addition to clay-based mining, Lynas is eyeing monazite-rich tailings stockpiles left behind by iron ore, mineral sands, tin and phosphate mining.
Ms Lacaze said tapping into the stockpiles presented an opportunity to turn trash into treasure as Lynas looks to boost its capacity to produce heavy rare earths like terbium and dysprosium to complement its strength in light rare earths in the form of neodymium and praseodymium (NdPr).
Iluka Resources is building a fully integrated rare earths processing plant on the WA coast where it intends to rely on feedstock from
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