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Investing.com-- Lynas Rare Earths (ASX:LYC), the world’s biggest producer of rare earths outside China, clocked a sharp jump in its fiscal first quarter revenue on higher prices of the critical minerals, although the company still flagged headwinds from increased volatility in the market.
Lynas’ revenue for the three months to end-September jumped 66.1% to A$200.2 million ($130.1 mln), but missed Visible Alpha estimates of A$230 million.
Total rare earth oxide production rose to 3,993 tonnes from 2,722 tonnes a year ago. Neodymium and praseodymium production rose to 2,080 tonnes from 1,677 tonnes, the Australian company said in a statement on Thursday.
The company said it was engaged with “various governments” over developing non-Chinese sources of rare earths.
China is the biggest producer of rare earths in the world, and triggered heightened volatility in the market this year as it used the critical minerals as bargaining chips in a bitter trade war with the United States.
China in October introduced new curbs on its rare earth exports.
This left the U.S. scrambling to establish more non-Chinese rare earth supply chains, with Washington signing major deals with Australia and Japan to develop better rare earths supply chains.
Rare earths are a key component in several industries, ranging from defense equipment to consumer electronics. While the materials are abundantly available in the environment, their processing into usable material is a major challenge.
Lynas also has a contract with the U.S. Department of War to build a heavy rare earths processing plant in Seadrift, Texas. But the company said on Thursday that there remained “significant uncertainty” over the construction of the plant, amid a swathe of issues, ranging from wastewater management, offtake agreements, and steep capital expenditure requirements.