Lynas Rare Earths has delivered record neodymium-praseodymium (NdPr) production of 1725 tonnes in the March quarter of 2023.
The company produced 1687 tonnes of NdPr in the prior corresponding period (pcp) of 2022 and 1508 tonnes of the rare earths product in the previous quarter.
Lynas achieved this new mark despite experiencing a shutdown of its Malaysia processing plant, where tie-in works for a mixed rare earth carbonate (MREC) facility took place for more than three days.
The strong performance was attributed to plant efficiency improvements and no significant downtime from external events.
Total rare earth oxide (TREO) production dropped 12 per cent from 4945 tonnes in the 2022 pcp to 4348 tonnes in the March quarter of 2023, which resulted from a supplier shortage of hydrochloric acid, quelling lanthanum and cerium production.
Despite this, sales revenue increased from $217.5 million in the December quarter of 2022 to $237.1 million in the three months just gone. Sales revenue has increased 45 per cent since the start of the 2022-23 financial year (FY23).
“The demand for Lynas’ NdPr product family from customers outside China remained very strong during the quarter,” Lynas said in its quarterly.
“This, together with excellent NdPr production volumes, resulted in strong sales performance in the quarter despite a decrease in the average selling price.”
Lynas experienced an average selling price of $48.3/kg in the March quarter, which was 21 per cent lower than the December quarter of 2022 ($58.4/kg).
The company’s Kalgoorlie rare earths processing facility is entering its final phase of construction, while dry commissioning has also commenced. Feed on is expected to commence at Kalgoorlie this quarter.
The progress of the Kalgoorlie plant is key to stemming Lynas’ Malaysia troubles, where a forced shutdown of the cracking and leaching component of the Malaysia facility looms. Lynas aims to rectify this shutdown by using MREC from the Kalgoorlie plant as feedstock for downstream processing.
“As indicated in previous reports, Lynas has been planning for this for some time with a key focus on inventory management to assist in meeting our key customers’ requirements during any transitional period of reduced production,” Lynas chief executive officer Amanda Lacaze said.
“Notwithstanding these actions, if the Lynas Malaysia cracking and leaching plant is required to shut down from 1st July 2023, the whole Lynas Malaysia facility will shut down in mid-July until the new MREC feedstock is received.
“In light of the current target date for feed on at the Kalgoorlie Facility (Q4 FY23), the first MREC from Kalgoorlie will likely be received at Lynas Malaysia in about August 2023.”
But Lacaze admitted that the commissioning and ramp up of the Kalgoorlie plant remained “inherently unpredictable” and Lynas has altered its expectations accordingly.
“We are planning for either a complete shutdown or very low production at Lynas Malaysia for at least up to three months, followed by a period of reduced production which will increase as the ramp up to capacity of the Kalgoorlie rare earths processing facility is achieved.”
Lynas has lodged an appeal with Malaysia’s Minister of the Ministry of Science, Technology and Innovation (MOSTI), seeking administrative review for the prospective ban. A hearing will take place on April 28 to determine the outcome of this appeal.
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