LYNAS ON A SALES HIGH
Lynas Rare Earths has ramped up production to achieve record quarterly sales revenue of $327.7 million.
The company said the stellar result for the three months to the end of March – $125m higher than the same time a year earlier – came amid ongoing disruption from COVID-19 as operations in Australia and Malaysia increased production to meet demand. Sales receipts were also up $11m to $262m. Lynas said a global rush for rare earths, particularly in the neodymium magnets market, drove strong demand for its neodymium and praseodymium (NdPr) product and its heavy rare earths compound.
“The market price for NdPr continued to strengthen during the March quarter and our customers continue to advise that demand for rare earths remains strong, particularly in automotive industry,” chief executive Amanda Lacaze said.
“We are focused on developing initiatives to increase supply to support continued market growth.”
Lynas is building a cracking and leaching plant at Kalgoorlie-Boulder that will process concentrate from its Mt Weld mine near Laverton but its existing Malaysian plant will continue to handle refining.
The company said all necessary approvals for the Kalgoorlie-Boulder project had now been received and construction was under way.
It said it also remained “closely engaged” with a number of governments as they focus on securing diversified and resilient critical mineral supply chains.
Kalgoorlie rare earths gets ministerial approval
Preliminary implementation of Lynas Rare Earths’ Kalgoorlie processing facility has been approved after it was issued with a Ministerial Statement under the Environment Protection Act 1986 (WA). The statement outlines the conditions for the construction and operation of the rare earths facility, which are consistent with initiatives proposed by Lynas.
Lynas has worked closely with all levels of government to ensure the Kalgoorlie rare earths processing facility sustainably supports the Critical Minerals and Modern Manufacturing strategies of the Australian Government, the Future Battery and Critical Minerals Industries Strategy of the WA Government, and the City of Kalgoorlie-Boulder’s economic diversification plans. Lynas is now working to finalise the secondary approvals required for project implementation.
In August 2020, Lynas signed a sub-lease with the City of Kalgoorlie Boulder for the 135-hectare area where the rare earths processing facility was constructed. Construction began in mid-2021 when Lynas also awarded a contract to Metso Outotec for a new kiln at the project’s processing plant.
Lynas Rare Earths was established as an ethical and environmentally responsible producer of rare earth materials and is the world’s only significant producer of separated rare earth materials outside of China.
CREDIT- Australian Mining
Lynas Rare Earths begins contracting for process plant
Lynas Rare Earths has kicked off construction of its Kalgoorlie processing facility in Western Australia, awarding a formative contract to a WestStar Industrial subsidiary for $12 million. The rare earths processing facility will treat concentrate from the Mt Weld mine to produce rare earth carbonate for export to Lynas’ Malaysian facility for further processing.
WestStar’s engineering, construction and contracting business Alltype Engineering has been keen to ramp up its strategic plan to deliver major construction projects, and the Lynas contract will bolster this plan as works begin immediately..
The rotary kiln will be six metres wide and 110 metres long. The contract will also encompass the fabrication and installation of the discharge end building, a dust chute, primary leach overflow hopper, and the installation of pumps, agitators, piping and electrical instrumentation.
The Kalgoorlie processing facility was recommended for construction by the Western Australian Environmental Protection Agency (EPA), granted a 30-metre native vegetation buffer was maintained around the site.
