Deal still attractive, says Lynas CEO Lacaze.
At the beginning of this year, there were rumors of a possible merger between the two most important rare earth miners outside China, MP Materials from the United States and the Australian group Lynas. However, the talks between the two companies, subsequently confirmed, were put on hold as no agreement could be reached at a business level, as Lynas CEO Amanda Lacaze explained at a press conference at the Diggers & Dealers Mining Forum in Kalgoorlie, Australia. Nevertheless, Lacaze remains optimistic about a possible cooperation between the two companies, writes The West Australian (paywall). Meanwhile, her company is building the country’s first rare earth refinery in Kalgoorlie, Western Australia. The rare earth carbonate produced there will then be transported to Malaysia for further processing or to a corresponding plant in the U.S. as soon as it is operational. It will be built in Seadrift, Texas. Six hundred kilometers to the north, in Fort Worth, Texas, MP Materials is building a factory. Production of rare earth magnets is expected to start here this year. The two companies have, therefore, already moved closer together in terms of location.
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