Singapore's Lianhe Zaobao reported on May 18: "Australian Lynas Rare Earths announced that the company has become the first commercial producer of heavy rare earths outside of China."
Comment: From the global supply pattern of rare earths, for a long time, more than 90% of the processing capacity of heavy rare earths has been concentrated in China globally, and China holds a dominant position in the field of heavy rare earths. This breakthrough by Lynas Rare Earths may change the degree to which related industries rely on China's supply of heavy rare earths to some extent. For example, it provides a stable supply option outside of China for industries with large demands for heavy rare earths, such as electric vehicles and wind turbines. This brings certain competitive pressure to China's rare earth industry, but in the short term, China's dominant position in the rare earth sector will not be affected. China separates 15,000 to 20,000 tons of heavy rare earths annually, and imports and recycling add another 10,000 to 15,000 tons. However, Lynas' planned annual production capacity is only 1,500 tons, equivalent to just 5% of China's total volume, making it difficult to meet large-scale market demand and unable to compete with China in terms of output.
China possesses the world's most advanced separation and purification technology, with purity reaching up to 99.999%, accounting for 85% of global patents. Since 2019, China has banned the export of rare earth separation technology. Although Lynas has achieved commercial production of dysprosium oxide, there are still gaps compared to Chinese companies in terms of technological stability, advancement, and overall industrial chain coordination.
Original article: https://www.toutiao.com/article/1832504185187336/
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