Lynas' Texas Rare Earth Plant Plan Stalled Over Wastewater Permit Issues

[Bearishness Persists, Pr-Nd Oxide Remains Weak; Metals Follow Lower with Sluggish Transactions; Magnetic Materials Recover as Work Resumes] Yesterday, affected by fluctuations in futures prices, most market participants maintained a bearish outlook. Downstream metal producers showed strong wait-and-see sentiment and low purchase willingness; some traders continued selling at low prices, leaving market transactions under pressure, and Pr-Nd oxide prices remained on a weak trend. In medium-heavy rare earths, dysprosium oxide and terbium oxide prices were relatively stable, with little overall change in the market.

[SMM Rare Earth Flash] REEX-Metallium Limited announced test results showing that the company used FJH technology to convert unrefined raw ore containing approximately 12% total rare earth oxides (TREO) into a mixed rare earth chloride product with purity exceeding 83%, with more than fourfold NdPr enrichment. Meanwhile, the company achieved up to 280-fold enrichment of germanium from zinc smelting scrap and obtained platinum-palladium-rhodium products with purity exceeding 60% from platinum group metal (PGM)-bearing material. In addition, red mud testing removed approximately 99% of iron and 94% of silicon, while retaining approximately 95% of aluminum and achieving separate gallium enrichment. The company has not yet disclosed key commercial metrics such as rare earth recovery rates, energy consumption, and operating costs, and the economics of scaling up FJH technology remain to be verified. Metallium currently targets first sales of processed PCB products in H1 2027.