With a shadow of uncertainty over ramp up at Mt Weld, Lynas Rare Earths is preparing for a potential three-month shutdown at its Malaysian operations.
With a shadow of uncertainty over ramp up at Mt Weld, Lynas Rare Earths is preparing for a potential three-month shutdown at its Malaysian operations.
The rare earths miner issued a quarterly update this morning reporting its highest-ever production for the period of 1.72 million tonnes.
“The strong NdPr production result is the outcome of plant efficiency improvements and no significant downtime from external events,” Lynas said in a statement.
“Demand for Lynas’ NdPr products from customers outside China remained very strong during the quarter. Sales revenue increased to $237.1m and sales receipts increased to $229.2m, despite a decrease in the average selling price.”
Operational efficiencies aside, Lynas is currently awaiting an outcome on conditions attached to its Malaysian licence that could force the closure of part of its processing operations.
The three-year licence extension, which was due to expire in March, is subject to conditions prohibiting Lynas from cracking and leaching rare earths at the facility after July 2023.
The company has been lobbying to remove these conditions, which also prohibits the importation and processing of lanthanide concentrate.
It’s previously been reported the Malaysian government rejected the request in a bid to stop Lynas from producing radioactive waste in the country.
Lynas has previously flagged the issue and has sought to prepare for several scenarios should the import and processing ban come into effect, factoring in the pace at which it can get its Kalgoorlie facility up and running.
Uncertainty surrounding the ramp-up has meant Lynas could be facing a period of three months with low or no production at its Malaysian operations.
“Commissioning and ramp up of a plant of the nature of the Kalgoorlie Rare Earth Processing Facility remains inherently unpredictable and as a result, we are planning for either a complete shutdown or very low production at Lynas Malaysia for at least up to 3 months followed by a period of reduced production which will increase as the ramp up to capacity of the Kalgoorlie Rare Earths Processing Facility is achieved,” the company said.
Lynas has been building stockpile in a bid to see it through the transitional period.
It’s unclear when Malaysian authorities are set to review Lynas’ appeal over the licence conditions, however the company said it has requested that the appeals are addressed ‘urgently’.
Shares in Lynas Rare Earths were up 4.75 per cent to close the day at $6.84.
