GEBENG, April 9 — Australian mining firm Lynas told AFP on Wednesday it plans to expand its portfolio of rare earths extracted in Malaysia, as it hopes to bolster its position as a key alternative supplier to China.

The company, which owns the largest commercial rare earths plant outside of China, also said it would increase collaboration with makers of high-performance magnets that are used in advanced industries such as electronics and aerospace.

“The first step was to demonstrate that we are able to extract heavy rares (earths),” Lynas chief operating officer Pol Le Roux said in an interview at the company’s facility in eastern Malaysia’s Gebeng.

“We demonstrated that with dysprosium in May last year, terbium in June and samarium last month,” he said.

The three elements, known as “heavy rare earth oxides”, have become increasingly sought-after since Beijing restricted exports in 2025.

Lynas announced in March it had begun producing samarium oxide, used in high-performance magnets.

The Gebeng facility, which has been running since 2012, supplies materials used in a range of products including electric vehicles, mobile phones and missiles.

Le Roux said that Lynas had also “started detailed engineering of a full heavy rare (earths) separation... that will provide us the capability to extract any rare earths demanded by the market”.

“This is ongoing, and we will have a full suite of extraction on this site” by late next year, he added.

Lynas has cornered around 10 per cent of the world’s rare-earth market, with the other 90 per cent made in China.

The three oxides already extracted by Lynas in Malaysia are used to make high-end magnets, used to help treat cancer pain and in devices such as headphones, electric vehicles and wind turbines, as well as solid state lasers and defence equipment.

Lynas chief executive Amanda Lacaze told AFP the company was already partnering with high-end magnet makers to close the downstream gap between rare-earth processing and manufacturing.

“We won’t just say that we are going to wake up tomorrow and be a magnet maker,” she said.

“We will do that in partnership with firms that have demonstrated expertise in these areas.”

Lynas in March announced a 10-year renewal of its operating licence in Malaysia, under stricter conditions set by the government due to environmental concerns.

Malaysia is now the largest commercial producer of separated rare earths outside China. — AFP