Lynas
Lynas Rare Earths, Ltd. is an Australian rare-earths mining company with two major operations: a mining and concentration plant at Mount Weld in Western Australia, and the Lynas Advanced Materials Plant (LAMP) in Kuantan, Malaysia. The company was founded in the 1990s and is headquartered in Perth, Western Australia. the LAMP is the only major rare-earth processing plant outside of China. The project produces radioactive waste, and has met with resistance from local communities. Lynas is listed on the Australian Securities Exchange as a S&P/ASX 200 company. Background Rare earth elements are critical minerals used in the defense industry and for electronics. China controls 80% of global rare earth production. The Lynas Advanced Materials Plant is the largest rare earth production facility outside of China. History The company was founded in 1983 as Yilgangi Gold NL. The company took on the Lynas Gold N.L. name in 1985.[1] It became publicly listed in 1986 on the ASX. In 2001, it sold off its gold division and focused on rare earths.[1] Lynas was founded by the Sumich family of Perth, Western Australia. Perth based mining identity, Mr Les Emery was appointed its first CEO and Managing Director in 1986, remaining with Lynas until 2001. In 1994, following an exploration discovery, Lynas opened its first gold mine at Lynas Find, 130 km south of Port Hedland, Western Australia. In 1998 it jointly developed a second gold mine at Paraburdoo, in the Ashburton region of Western Australia, with Sipa Resources. In 2000 Les Emery identified an opportunity to diversify Lynas into the rare earths industry, when he became aware that Ashton Mining was attempting to sell off the Mount Weld rare earths project. He concluded an agreement for Lynas to purchase the project and in 2001 Lynas changed its name to Lynas Corporation Limited. Later in the same year Les Emery was replaced as CEO and Managing Director by Sydney based Nicholas Curtis. Operations Mount Weld In May 2009, Lynas was offered funding of $252 million by the Chinese state-owned China Non-Ferrous Metal Mining (Group) Co., which would have taken a 51.6% stake in the company. However the deal was scrapped by Australia's Foreign Investment Review Board on concern it would threaten supply to non-Chinese buyers. Lynas later raised $450 million in a share sale. In November 2010, it signed an agreement with the Japanese rare-earths trading company Sojitz to export €450 million Euros worth of rare-earth minerals from its mine in Mount Weld. Crown deposit In April 2011, Lynas was attempting to sell its Crown polymetallic deposit (which is particularly prospective for niobium) at Mount Weld to Forge Resources. Forge, a company listed on the ASX, also shared the one and only common Director and CEO of Lynas, Nicholas Curtis, (Lynas current CEO is Amanda Lacaze) although former Lynas executive director Harry Wang was also involved with Forge and the transaction. In a 2007 Company presentation, Lynas claimed that the Crown deposit was worth $50 billion but have valued it at $20.7 million