Electromobility and climate protection drive demand for rare earths.
The largest producer of rare earths outside China, Australian mining company Lynas, on Tuesday presented figures for the first quarter of the year. A “record revenue” of 327.7 million Australian dollars (about 223 million euros) was achieved, compared with 110 million Australian dollars in the same period last year, Reuters news agency writes. Lynas had already reported a record quarter of 202.7 million Australian dollars in revenue for October to December 2021 (we reported).
The quarterly figures (PDF) also show that production of the rare earths neodymium and praseodymium (NdPr) increased to 1,687 metric tons, compared with 1,359 metric tons in the same period last year. Global efforts to address climate change and electrification have caused demand for these specialty metals, which are among the most important minerals mined by Lynas, to jump in recent years, Reuters reported. Neodymium and praseodymium are used as materials for particularly strong permanent magnets, which are installed in electric motors and wind turbines, for example.
Photo: iStock/nattanan726
