Rare Earths MMI: Iluka rare earths refinery to produce neodymium, dysprosium, other REOs

The Rare Earths Monthly Metals Index (MMI) fell 11.3% for this month’s reading.

April 2022 Rare Earths MMI
Source: MetalMiner Insights

Keep an eye out for the full MMI report download later this week. 

Iluka approves new refinery

Australian firm Iluka Resources this week announced it had approved a fully integrated refinery for rare earth oxides.
The refinery will be at Eneabba, Western Australia.
“The refinery will be capable of processing rare earth feedstocks sourced from both Iluka’s portfolio and from a range of potential third party concentrate suppliers,” Iluka said in a release.
The company said it agreed to move forward after conducting a feasibility study. In addition, it reached a risk sharing agreement with the Australian government.
The refinery will produce “high value rare earth oxides” like neodymium, praseodymium, dysprosium and terbium.
“These are critical inputs across a range of industries and technologies including electric vehicles, sustainable energy, advanced electronics, medical and defence applications,” the company said.
Furthermore, the refinery will have capacity of 17,500 metric tons per year of rare earth oxides. Construction on the refinery will begin the second half of 2022. The company expects to begin production from the site in 2025.
The MetalMiner weekly newsletter features news and analysis to keep readers up to date on everything going on in the world of metals. 

Biden uses Defense Production Act to boost mining

The U.S. continues to seek alternative rare earth sourcing options to China. China, of course, continues to maintain a dominant presence in the global rare earths mining and processing sectors.
Rare earths, while not actually rare, are critical for use in everything from consumer electronics to green energy installations.
Elsewhere, President Joe Biden is using the Defense Production Act of 1950 to boost domestic mining.
“It is the policy of my Administration that ensuring a robust, resilient, sustainable, and environmentally responsible domestic industrial base to meet the requirements of the clean energy economy, such as the production of large-capacity batteries, is essential to our national security and the development and preservation of domestic critical infrastructure,” the president said in a March 31 memo.
“The United States depends on unreliable foreign sources for many of the strategic and critical materials necessary for the clean energy transition — such as lithium, nickel, cobalt, graphite, and manganese for large-capacity batteries.  Demand for such materials is projected to increase exponentially as the world transitions to a clean energy economy.”
Using Section 303 of the Cold War-era legislation, the secretary of defense will “create, maintain, protect, expand, or restore sustainable and responsible domestic production capabilities of such strategic and critical materials by supporting feasibility studies for mature mining, beneficiation, and value-added processing projects.”
Furthermore, the memo states that expanding domestic production for these critical materials is necessary to “avert an industrial resource or critical technology item shortfall that would severely impair the national defense capability.” As such, the president waived certain requirements under Section 303(a)(1)-(a)(6) to aid the expansion of production.

Actual metals prices and trends

The Chinese neodymium oxide price fell 17% month over month to $158,502 per metric ton as of April 1. Meanwhile, terbium oxide fell 13.6% to $2,074 per kilogram.
Praseodymium oxide fell 11.5% to $150,617 per metric ton. Lastly, dysprosium oxide fell 15% to $419 per kilogram.

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