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By Ernest Scheyder
CHICAGO (Reuters) – China threatens to restrict its exports of rare earth minerals, Lynas Corp is lobbied to renew its business around the world and is the best option for its customers to use a diversified supply of rare earth minerals. specialized materials.
Lynas, based in Australia, can not match China's rare earth processing capacity, but she hopes her role as the largest rare earth miner and largest processor outside of China will help her build new relationships and fuel expansion projects.
China warned last month that it could curb exports to the United States of rare earths, a group of 17 minerals used in a multitude of military equipment and high-tech consumer electronics products.
"We are truly independent of China," Lynas president Amanda Lacaze told the Argus US Specialty Metals conference in Chicago on Thursday. "Our goal is to remain a leader in the rare earth market, and there will be significant growth outside of China as long as customers have confidence in their offer."
According to research firm Adamas Intelligence, China has at least 85% of the world's capacity to transform rare earth ores into materials that can be used by manufacturers. Lynas holds about 11%.
Last month, Lynas signed a memorandum of understanding for the construction of a rare earth treatment facility in Texas with private company Blue Line Corp.
Blue Line executives declined to say how much the project would cost or predict its processing capacity and should not be open for several years.
Yet Lacaze described the project as a key for Lynas to fill a "vacuum" in the US rare earth market.
"We know that being close to our customers helps us innovate with them," said Lacaze, former telecom marketing director, who became the company's CEO in 2014.
"We never want our customers to have a relationship with another supplier."
(Report by Ernest Scheyder, edited by Phil Berlowitz)
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