Lynas Rare Earths has officially opened its state-of-the-art rare earths processing facility in Kalgoorlie, Western Australia.
First announced in 2019, the $800 million large-scale facility was delivered in less than two and a half years from the receipt of full construction approvals.
The Kalgoorlie plant is expected to create around 115 direct jobs in the Goldfields region by processing ores from Lynas’ nearby Mt Weld mine to create a mixed rare earth carbonate.
Critical minerals and rare earths elements are essential for the clean energy technologies such as electric vehicles, solar panels and wind turbines, as well as advanced electronics, the defence industry and medical devices.
Minister for Resources and Northern Australia Madeleine King was on hand to open the facility at a dedicated ceremony last week, and said as the first rare earths processing facility in Australia and the largest outside of China, the facility is globally significant.
“This opening is a big deal for Kalgoorlie, a huge deal for Western Australia and a massive step for Australia,” King said.
“Projects like the Lynas Rare Earths Processing Facility will deliver direct economic benefits to Australia while strengthening our sovereign capability.”
Lynas chief executive officer Amanda Lacaze said the project was ambitious, one that is foundational for the company’s future growth.
“To construct, commission and bring into production a facility of this scale in just over two and a half years is truly remarkable,” Lacaze said.
“I’m enormously proud of what we have achieved. The facility is fully commissioned and producing and we have a great production team in place.
“As the only significant ex-China producer of separated rare earths, Lynas plays an important role in the global rare earths supply chain.
“The mixed rare earth carbonate produced in Kalgoorlie is shipped to our Malaysian facility for separation into individual products, and in future will supply our planned US facility.”
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