Proterial to Invest $225M in Rare Earth Magnet Plant in Andhra Pradesh, India

Heavy rare earth production outside China is lagging behind growing magnet capacity, Don Swartz, chief executive of Rare Earths Americas (REA), said in an exclusive interview with Fastmarkets on Monday August 31, but REA's projects will support future heavy rare earth demand. According to Swartz, 20,000-30,000 mt of magnet capacity will come online outside China. As more capacity comes onstream from 2030 to 2035, magnet companies need a stable supply of rare earths to produce. The growing magnet industry will drive demand for heavy rare earths such as dysprosium and terbium.

ASX-listed Brazilian Rare Earths (BRE) has successfully commissioned its Phase 1 metallurgical pilot plant in Camaçari, Brazil, producing the first batch of rare earth concentrates. The plant will be used for metallurgical test work required for feasibility studies on the Monte Alto rare earth mine and the proposed Camaçari smelting hub. BRE stated that it has secured joint investment and technical support for the Phase 2 hydrometallurgy plant, which is planned to commence production in Q2 2027. While Phase 1 will provide data to support process design refinement, equipment selection, and cost estimation, the Phase 2 pilot plant will expand the metallurgical program through hydrometallurgical extraction and separation to produce Pr-Nd oxide, heavy rare earth concentrates, and uranium yellowcake. Specifically, the Phase 2 pilot plant will test and validate recovery rates and commercialization pathways for uranium, scandium, niobium, titanium, and tantalum, assess the potential to reduce unit costs, evaluate lowering net unit costs to below $21 per kg of Pr-Nd equivalent as modeled in the scoping study, and expand cost advantages.