Rare earths miners see opportunity in US trade war | Australian Markets

Trade tensions between the US and China are enjoying into the palms of Australian uncommon earths miners.

The weapons and electronics ingredients with hard-to-pronounce names comparable to praseodymium and neodymium have develop into the centre of a geopolitical tussle between the 2 largest world powers.

For aspiring vertically-integrated uncommon earths producer Australian Strategic Minerals, that presents an enticing opportunity.

The ASX-listed firm is busy engaged on getting its construction-ready Dubbo mine online, however has already been inundated with orders for its South Korea processing plant.

It all kicked off when China retaliated to US tariffs by chopping off its near-total provide of uncommon earth minerals.

That despatched a wake-up call to American policymakers who realised they needed to take control of their provide chains, ASM chief govt Rowena Smith mentioned on Monday.

“The Korean metals plant, particularly in recent months since those restrictions that we saw imposed by China, has had a huge influx of inquiry. So we’re busy ramping up our facility there,” she instructed the Diggers and Dealers mining discussion board in Kalgoorlie.

The plant, situated 115kms south of Seoul, is one of a few amenities exterior of China succesful of refining uncommon earths into the high-tech metals and alloys which are then changed into magnets important for making digital gadgets.

In July, the US Department of Defence invested $US400 million in uncommon earths miner MP Materials, together with a beneficiant assured price flooring of $US110 per kilogram for neodymium and praseodymium.

The resolution put a rocket beneath uncommon earth costs and put the market on discover that the US authorities was trying to do business.

“At the moment, we’ve been talking to the DoD about funding support” for a US-based facility, Ms Smith mentioned.

“What we’re seeing in the US is that the policy is extremely supportive of putting this facility into that jurisdiction.

“And we’re seeing that, not simply on the Trump administration – the federal – however truly on the state stage, very robust competitors to having this facility put into their own jurisdiction.”

Another Australian company that has benefited from the Americans’ determination to achieve supply chain independence is Lynas, the biggest producer of rare earths outside of China.

The Perth-based company has been awarded funds by the DoD to construct a processing facility in Texas, which will add to its current facilities in Malaysia and Kalgoorlie.

More particulars in regards to the project are prone to be revealed on Tuesday morning, when Lynas common supervisor development Alex Logan takes to the Diggers and Dealers stage.