Live news updates: US producer prices rise as inflation pressure mounts
Jars contain rare earth minerals produced by Lynas from its Mount Weld operations in Western Australia © Melanie Burton/Reuters
The US defence department has signed a $120mn deal with Australia’s Lynas Rare Earths to build the country’s first onshore commercial-scale rare earths separation facility, as part of a US government push to end China’s dominance of critical mineral supply chains.
Rare earth elements are vital in low carbon technologies such as electric vehicles and wind turbines, as well as military equipment and consumer electronics. China is responsible for almost 90 per cent of global refining of rare earths, according to the International Energy Agency.
Under the deal with Lynas, China would be bypassed entirely. Lynas, the world’s largest rare earths producer outside China, will export rare earth carbonate refined in Australia to the US, where it would be further processed…
