The Chamber of Minerals and Energy of Western Australia (CME) welcomes today’s official opening of Lynas Rare Earths’ Kalgoorlie Rare Earths Processing Facility.
CME Chief Executive Officer Rebecca Tomkinson said the plant represented a significant step down the processing and value-adding chain for the State’s resources sector.
“The minerals mined and processed by Lynas Rare Earths are essential for a wide range of modern technology, including mobiles phones, medical devices, wind turbines and electric vehicles,” Ms Tomkinson said.
“Lynas’ Kalgoorlie facility is the first of its kind in the country and will play a vital role building supply chain resilience for both low-emission energy and defence applications.
“The cracking and leaching operation will also support hundreds of local jobs in the Goldfields-Esperance region and inject hundreds of millions of dollars into the local economy.”
The Kalgoorlie Rare Earths Processing Facility will turn rare earth ores mined at Mt Weld mine into a carbonate, which will then be separated into individual rare earths at a separate Lynas plant in Malaysia.
“Demand for the rare earths produced by Lynas is expected to rapidly increase as the global energy transition gathers pace,” Ms Tomkinson said.
“Western Australia possesses some of the richest rare earth deposits on the planet.
“Bringing those minerals to market will require a continued focus on streamlining and accelerating project assessments, boosting the supply of turnkey industrial land and ensuring access to reliable, cost-competitive and low-emission energy.”
Media contacts:
Josh Zimmerman j.zimmerman@cmewa.com / 0404 947 719
Natasha Mutch n.mutch@cmewa.com / 0435 383 382
