Lynas approved to buy Malawi rare earths

Rare earths player Lynas will move forward with its $US4 million purchase of a resource deposit in Malawi after receiving government approval.

Lynas says the purchase will put the company in the unique position of being only rare earths mining company outside China to have two significant ore resources in different geographic regions.

"The ability to source from two deposits inherently increases security of supply for our customer base and also will bring a certain degree of flexibility to the rare earths products produced and the ability to balance the market requirements by element more closely," the company said.

Lynas already owns the richest known deposit of rare earths in the world at Mount Weld, near Laverton and hopes to begin feeding ore into its concentration plant near the site early next year.

The Malawi deposit has an inferred resource of 107,000 tonnes of rare earths at 4.24 per cent and also contains strontianite and phosphate minerals Lynas hopes to produce as by-products.