Malaysia ups rare earths extraction
Workers load tons of rare earth minerals into bags ready for shipping at a refinery in eastern Malaysia, fueling the global pushback against China’s grip on the critical sector.
Rare earths are a key ingredient in products ranging from smartphones to fighter jets, electric cars and wind turbines—and increasingly for hardware powering the artificial intelligence boom.
Global jitters about Beijing’s dominance as a rare earths producer have kicked Australian mining giant Lynas into action, expanding its portfolio of rare earths refined in Malaysia as it hopes to boost its approximately 10-percent share of the market.
China makes up the other 90 percent of the world’s market, stoking fears about Beijing’s ability to choke global supplies.
Pushing against Chinese dominance will “take discipline, focus, and clear planning,” Lynas company’s chief executive Amanda Lacaze told Agence France-Presse (AFP) during a rare press visit to the company’s sprawling chemical plant in Malaysia’s Gebeng industrial hub, near the coastal city of Kuantan.
The Lynas facility in Gebeng is now the world’s largest single rare earths processing plant.
Downstream demand
Since 2012, the facility has been refining pure metals from raw materials mined in Western Australia, in an intensive and complicated separation procedure.
It currently handles 11 of the 17 rare earths—a number that is increasing—with plans to expand even further to include “heavies” such as yttrium and lutetium, used for lasers, medical imaging, and cancer therapy.
From the plant, the bags are transported to Port Klang on the other side of Malaysia, and leave on a ship for Japan, where the metal powders are turned into high-performance magnets used in advanced industries such as electronics and aerospace.
Rare earths are so vital for the global economy that they have become a flashpoint in the blistering trade war between the United States and China.
Beijing leveraged its grip on the precious minerals in spectacular fashion last October, reaching a deal with Washington to pause the trade war after its curbs on exports rattled markets and snarled supply chains.
Supply of rare earths is expected to be a key discussion point at an upcoming summit between US President Donald Trump and his Chinese counterpart Xi Jinping in Beijing set for mid-May.
