PERTH, March 30, 2026, 04:09 AWST.
Lynas Rare Earths announced late last week it’s teaming up with South Korea’s LS Eco Energy for a processing project in Vietnam. The plan: turn Lynas rare-earth oxides into metals used for permanent magnets. This move would bring the Australian miner further along a supply chain that’s still largely controlled by China. LS Eco is eyeing a fourth-quarter launch for the Vietnam plant, with magnet output expected in the U.S.
Timing’s crucial here, with governments and manufacturers rushing to secure rare-earth supplies from outside China since Beijing slapped on export restrictions last year. Arafura Rare Earths CEO Darryl Cuzzubbo flagged that Germany and South Korea remain “quite exposed” as the U.S. and Japan have already started taking steps. Reuters noted that Lynas and MP Materials stand out as the only Western players producing at scale. Reuters
Rare earths, metals critical for high-powered magnets, end up in everything from EVs and wind turbines to smartphones and military kit. Lynas, this month, landed a four-year U.S. supply deal worth roughly $96 million and pushed its Japan Australia Rare Earths pact out to 2038. Both agreements set a $110 per kilogram floor for neodymium-praseodymium (NdPr) — the key magnet ingredient.
Chief Executive Amanda Lacaze said in a filing that “secure access to metallisation is critical”—pointing to the stage that transforms rare-earth oxides into magnet-ready metal. Lynas and LS Eco Energy also struck a deal to explore separate convertible-instrument investments, each valued at roughly A$30 million.
Lynas’s Malaysia plant turned out its first samarium oxide ahead of plan—news that hit just as the Vietnam move came through. Samarium, key for advanced magnets in aerospace and electronics, pushes Lynas’s offering of separated heavy rare earths to three products now, according to the company.
Malaysia is still key to Lynas’ processing operations. Earlier this month, Kuala Lumpur extended the plant’s licence for another decade, but ordered Lynas to halt production of new radioactive waste after five years and to allocate 1% of its yearly gross sales to R&D in Malaysia.
Canberra is stepping in to back the industry, too. Resources Minister Madeleine King said the country’s proposed A$1.2 billion critical minerals reserve will feature a sort of floor price. She also pointed to rising interest from France, noting that allies are ramping up efforts to lock in supply from Australian critical-minerals projects.
The road ahead looks anything but straightforward. The LS Eco deal is only at an early stage, with non-Chinese producers under pressure as they try to keep up with Chinese players on both cost and technology. Softer demand for electric vehicles is making it tougher to get financing for new processing sites. Over at Kalgoorlie, Lynas still faces trouble with unreliable power, and with Lacaze set to leave at the close of the financial year—after the board kicked off a search for a successor back in January—leadership is about to shift.
