Lynas Rare Earths has assured key customers it will meet their needs for mixed rare earth carbonate (MREC) this quarter despite a significant power outage at its Kalgoorlie processing facility.
The loss of production, estimated to be around one month’s production this quarter, is said to not impact the needs of key customers, with Lynas stating it will “still produce sufficient finished product”.
Despite the positive news that business is continuing, there have been multiple instances of power supply disruptions affecting the facility – with the most recent outage said to have caused “significant lost production” of MREC.
Lynas also noted the production of finished goods at the company’s Malaysian facility will also be affected.
“Whilst the Kalgoorlie team is working hard to recover the lost production, it cannot reach the Malaysian facility in time to be processed to finished goods within the quarter. The shortfall in MREC feedstock cannot be mitigated by increased production in Malaysia as the Malaysian kilns are shut down for scheduled major maintenance,” the company said in a statement.
Power at Kalgoorlie has been provided by Western Power’s Eastern Goldfields Load Permissive Scheme since 2021 on the basis that cleaner power is accessed in lieu of costly, emissions-intensive diesel generators.
The Lynas processing plant in Western Australia is the first of its kind and undertakes value added processing of rare earths, with the facility designed to process rare earth concentrate from the company’s Mt Weld mine.
It is understood Lynas is working with the Western Australian Government to identify causes of recent outages and options to improve power availability.
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