Lynas flags uncertainty over Texas rare earths plant, posts profit slump

Australia's Lynas Rare Earths warned of considerable uncertainty over the aboriginal of its heavy rare-earths processing plant in Texas and besides reported a steeper-than-expected driblet successful its annual profit on Thursday.

Lynas, the world's largest rare-earths producer extracurricular China, said it is successful negotiations with the U.S. Department of Defence to scope a mutually acceptable offtake statement for accumulation from the Texas-based Seadrift facility.

"While determination tin beryllium nary certainty that offtake agreements volition beryllium agreed, immoderate offtake agreements would request to beryllium connected commercialized presumption acceptable to Lynas," the miner said.

Lynas has been processing the installation nether a declaration with the U.S. DoD, with plans to statesman operations successful fiscal 2026. However, the institution indicated that operation of the plant may not determination forward.

"We are large supporters of continued concern successful improvement of outside-China's proviso chains," CEO Amanda Lacaze told an capitalist call.

"But conscionable remember...Lynas is the lynchpin of (the) outside-China proviso chain, and it is important that argumentation improvement is done successful specified a mode that continues to support that, because, arsenic I said before, improvement of new plants tin beryllium agelong and uncertain," she said.

Her comments came aft the U.S. authorities past period agreed a multibillion-dollar deal to go the apical shareholder in Lynas' biggest rival extracurricular China, MP Materials, supply a level terms for its key rare earth product, and lend it $150 cardinal to grow successful heavy rare earths separation.

Lynas also wants to beryllium progressive with new rare earth magnet makers successful the U.S. and different countries extracurricular China and is unfastened to taking an equity stake.

"There are 7 magnet projects coming to marketplace successful the U.S., galore of which really person immoderate signifier of authorities funding, which de-risks them," Lacaze said, adding determination are astir apt much magnet projects successful the U.S. than successful the remainder of the satellite combined.

"We privation to beryllium capable to enactment either connected an operational oregon a proviso oregon an equity ground successful this portion of the proviso chain," she said.

The miner past period signed an statement with Korea's JS Link to make a magnet installation successful Malaysia, wherever it has processing operations.

Lynas' net profit after taxation came successful astatine A$8 cardinal ($5.20 million) for the twelvemonth ended June 30, a crisp diminution from an A$84.5 cardinal reported a twelvemonth earlier.

The yearly fig besides missed the Visible Alpha statement estimation of A$30.4 million.

Lynas attributed the driblet in profit to depreciation costs from its Kalgoorlie and Mt. Weld installation expansion, noting that accumulation astatine Kalgoorlie fell abbreviated of nameplate capacity.

It expects its fiscal 2026 superior expenditure to beryllium astir A$160 million.

The miner announced an A$750 cardinal equity raising to "pursue caller maturation opportunities". The caller shares volition beryllium issued astatine A$13.25 apiece, a discount of 10% to Lynas' adjacent connected August 27.

Its shares were placed connected a trading halt up of the equity raising.