Sydney, May 4, 2026, 02:03 (AEST)
Lynas Rare Earths CEO Amanda Lacaze downplayed the company’s U.S. rare-earth supply agreement, describing it as “important” but saying it doesn’t rank among their top five contracts. Speaking with TIME on Sunday, Lacaze framed the deal as a standard customer contract, not a government partnership. She also flagged “significant uncertainty” around the fate and structure of the proposed Texas processing plant. Time
The stakes are higher these days as rare earths shift out of mining obscurity and land squarely in the spotlight of industrial security. These metals—indispensable in tiny doses—turn up in electric cars, personal tech, and military hardware. The magnets built from them wind up everywhere: household appliances, F-35 fighter jets, you name it.
Lynas is caught right in the thick of it. As the biggest rare earths producer outside China, the Australian company stands apart in a market where China controls close to 90% of global rare earth magnet production, Reuters noted back in March.
Lynas USA LLC has inked a U.S. deal laying out a four-year supply plan, with the Pentagon spending around $96 million for both light and heavy rare earth oxide products. The agreement sets a minimum price of $110 per kilogram for NdPr oxide—neodymium-praseodymium oxide—a critical magnet ingredient used in high-performance motors and defense applications.
Lacaze dismissed accusations that price floors benefit only select firms. “You cannot provide price support to people who don’t produce,” she told TIME. She pointed out that Lynas and MP Materials remain the sole producers of NdPr outside China. Time
Lynas and MP Materials both hold a slim, though crucial, edge. MP, headquartered in Las Vegas, benefits from a U.S. price floor, putting it squarely alongside Lynas as Western governments push for supply chains independent of Chinese refining and magnet production.
Lynas isn’t pinning its growth plans solely on Texas. CEO Amanda Lacaze put it plainly: the top priority now is boosting output to 10,500 tonnes of NdPr a year—up from 6,558 tonnes in the 2025 financial year. After that, the company will move to build out a heavy rare earths separation circuit at its Malaysian operations.
Lynas turned in gross sales revenue of A$265 million for the March quarter, blowing past last year’s A$123 million and underscoring why that expansion has investors paying attention. Higher prices, plus demand from buyers eager to cut exposure to China, powered the jump.
On May 1, shares finished at A$19.14, marking a 0.68% gain for the session. That capped a choppy week, with the price reaching up to A$19.92 at one point.
The risk here: supply could loosen up before Western governments manage to secure new demand. On April 30, Reuters noted that China sent a sizable shipment of yttrium oxide to the U.S. in March—potentially hinting at softer export restrictions. Still, U.S. imports of the compound over the last year remain 75% lower compared to the previous year.
Lynas faces a lingering regulatory cloud in Malaysia, home to its main processing facility. The government granted a 10-year licence extension in March, but there’s a catch: officials can review the permit at the five-year mark and revoke it if Lynas fails to comply. The company must end all radioactive waste production by 2031, and it’s also required to process existing waste—either via thorium extraction or other approved methods.
Lynas finds itself in a rare spot: it’s a commercial supplier, but also sits in governments’ strategic back pocket. The challenge isn’t showy—boosting production, keeping margins in line if prices slip, and showing that rare earths from outside China can compete without leaning on endless subsidy deals.
