RARE EARTH INDUSTRY – AUSTRALIA

Probe into investors in minerals firm

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Original article by Brad Thompson
The Australian Financial Review – Page: 15 : 4-Sep-24

A spokesman for Treasurer Jim Chalmers says the federal government will undertake a full assessment of whether the Yuxiao Fund has complied with an order to divest its stake in Northern Minerals. The Singapore-registered fund and its associates were directed to sell their equity interest in the critical minerals group due to their Chinese links. Yuxiao has sold its stake to two separate Hong Kong-registered companies, Qogir Trading & Service and Hong Kong Ying Tak, which will also be subject to government scrutiny on national interest grounds.

CORPORATES
NORTHERN MINERALS LIMITED – ASX NTU, YUXIAO FUND, AUSTRALIA. DEPT OF THE TREASURY

Chinese nab stake in Forrest-backed rare earths play

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Original article by Brad Thompson
The Australian Financial Review – Page: 21 : 10-Jul-24

A Hong Kong-based subsidiary of China’s JL Mag Rare-Earth Company will acquire a 9.8 per cent stake in Australian-listed Hastings Technology Metals . JL Mag will receive 19.6 million shares in the rare earths explorer via the $7m investment, while it will also gain a seat on Hastings’ board. Hastings notes that the JL Mag deal is below the threshold for the Foreign Investment Review Board’s current guidelines for investments in the critical minerals sector.

CORPORATES
HASTINGS TECHNOLOGY METALS LIMITED – ASX HAS, JL MAG RARE-EARTH COMPANY LIMITED, AUSTRALIA. FOREIGN INVESTMENT REVIEW BOARD

Iluka boss calls out China over rare earths prices

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Original article by Brad Thompson
The Australian Financial Review – Page: 18 : 8-May-24

Iluka Resources MD Tom O’Leary contends that the entire rare earths industry is unprofitable due to China’s efforts to manipulate prices in order to retain its dominance in the sector. O’Leary has told shareholders at Iluka’s AGM that no rare earths producer is making money at the current prices for minerals that are critical to the energy transition. He also alleges that Chinese state-owned entities are seeking to control rare earths production via binding offtake agreements or the acquisition of rival producers. Meanwhile, Iluka is seeking additional federal government funding for its rare earths refinery at Eneabba in Western Australia.

CORPORATES
ILUKA RESOURCES LIMITED – ASX ILU

Lynas set to expand despite glut fears

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Original article by Nick Evans
The Australian – Page: 16 : 27-Feb-24

Lynas Rare Earths has posted a 2023-24 interim net profit of $39.5m, which is 74 per cent lower than previously; revenue was down 37 per cent at $234.8m. The half-year result was marred by a six-week shutdown of its refinery in Malaysia, although Lynas took the opportunity to expand its production capacity. Lynas has advised that it now has the capacity to produce about 10,500 tonnes of neodymium and praseodymium (NdPr) annually. Lynas also intends to increase production at its cracking and leaching plant at Kalgoorlie in Western Australia, although Lacaze notes that Lynas will need to find an alternative source of sulphuric acid if BHP closes its Kalgoorlie nickel smelter.

CORPORATES
LYNAS RARE EARTHS LIMITED – ASX LYC, BHP GROUP LIMITED – ASX BHP

Protect critical minerals: Lynas

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Original article by Matt Bell
The Australian – Page: 13 & 16 : 5-Dec-23

Lynas Rare Earths CEO Amanda Lacaze says Australia should not give up control of its mineral firms, particularly those involved in the supply of critical minerals. She was speaking at the Australian British Chamber of Commerce’s ‘Rare Earth and Lithium – The Australian Advantage’ event, while Pilbara Minerals CEO Dale Henderson told the event that the recent decision by the US Department of Energy to bar lithium companies with substantial Chinese ownership from getting access to US grants was "not good news".

CORPORATES
LYNAS RARE EARTHS LIMITED – ASX LYC, AUSTRALIAN-BRITISH CHAMBER OF COMMERCE, PILBARA MINERALS LIMITED – ASX PLS, UNITED STATES. DEPT OF ENERGY

Lynas: rare earth needs critical mass

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Original article by Nick Evans
The Australian – Page: 16 : 30-Nov-23

Lynas Rare Earths’ CEO Amanda Lacaze has declined to comment on when the company’s cracking and leaching plant in Western Australia will be fully commissioned. She has told shareholders that most of the plant has now been commissioned, and Lynas is awaiting regulatory clearance for the facility’s gas treatment plant. Lacaze added that Lynas is open to processing rare earths ore from rival companies, although it has yet to secure any such agreements. Lynas also intends to build a rare earths plant in the US.

CORPORATES
LYNAS RARE EARTHS LIMITED – ASX LYC

US miner plotting Australian rare earths processing plant

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Original article by Peter Ker
The Australian Financial Review – Page: 18 : 29-Nov-23

US-based mineral sands producer Tronox may build a rare earths processing plant in Western Australia. The company has approached the state government about the plant, which would process a waste by-product of mineral sands mining known as monazite. Tronox proposes to stockpile monazite in WA for 3-5 years to use as feedstock for the plant, while sources have suggested that it may also import monazite from its South African operations to be processed. Tronox has mineral sands mines in WA and NSW. Iluka Resources is also building a plant to process monazite that it has been stockpiling for three decades.

CORPORATES
TRONOX INCORPORATED

Lynas hit with cost blowout on rare earths plant

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Original article by Brad Thompson
The Australian Financial Review – Page: 16 : 30-Aug-23

Lynas Rare Earths has reported a 2022-23 net profit of $310.7m, compared with $540.8m for the previous financial year; revenue fell from $920m in 2021-22 to $739.3m. The company received an average price of $46.20 per kilogram for its rare earths oxides, compared with an average of $60.30 per kilogram in 2021-22. Meanwhile, Lynas has revealed that the cost of building its cracking and leaching plant at Kalgoorlie in Western Australia has risen to $730m. Its previous estimate was $575m, and the cost increase has been attributed to factors such as the need to meet a deadline of 1 January to cease downstream processing at its plant in Malaysia.

CORPORATES
LYNAS RARE EARTHS LIMITED – ASX LYC

Federal government blocks Yuxiao Fund’s bid to increase its stake in Northern Minerals

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Original article by Stephen Dziedzic, Daniel Mercer
abc.net.au – Page: Online : 1-Mar-23

Treasurer Jim Chalmers has blocked an application from the Singapore-registered Yuxiao Fund to increase its stake in rare earths producer Northern Minerals from nearly 10 per cent to 19.9 per cent. Chalmers is said to have signed an order to block the transaction on 15 February, following a recommendation from the Foreign Investment Review Board. Northern Minerals’ executive chairman Nick Curtis says the fund is an investment vehicle for Chinese national Yuxiao Wu. Northern Minerals operates the Browns Range mine in Western Australia’s east Kimberley region, and it aims to become the first substantial producer of dysprosium outside of China.

CORPORATES
NORTHERN MINERALS LIMITED – ASX NTU, AUSTRALIA. DEPT OF THE TREASURY, AUSTRALIA. FOREIGN INVESTMENT REVIEW BOARD

Lynas stockpiling on threat of Malaysia disruption

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Original article by Nick Evans
The Australian – Page: 15 : 28-Feb-23

Lynas Rare Earths has reported its results for the first half of its financial year, reporting revenue of $370 million for the period, up from $314.8 million. Net profit fell from $156.9 million to $150.1 million, while EBITDA came in at $189 million. With its Malaysian cracking and leaching plant under threat of closure as from 1 July, Lynas indicated it is stockpiling processed material for use at its rare earth oxide refinery in Malaysia, while at the same time hoping to get its cracking and leaching plant in Western Australia up and running in time to avoid any disruptions to operations at its rare earth oxide refinery.

CORPORATES
LYNAS RARE EARTHS LIMITED – ASX LYC