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ing with some of the more significant chal- Aside from the obvious challenge of op- case of do you apply the right people in the
lenges that we’ve had previously. The erating during a prolonged period of de- right way to managing it and I think that’s
market is being kind to us right now, I think pressed rare earths prices, Lynas also what we’ve been able to demonstrate.
we’ve really hit our straps operationally endured a long-running battle with Malay- “It’s always been my view that we would
and we have some very exciting projects sian authorities over the disposal of low- be an outstanding success because we’ve
on our plate. So, life in the level radioactive waste produced from the got this amazing resource in the Mt Weld
Lynas world is looking pretty separation plant. orebody, we’ve got people who are com-
good, that’s all I’ll say.” Matters almost came to a head in 2018 mitted and dedicated to making the busi-
Under Lacaze’s leader- when the Malaysian Government threat- ness work and have the skills which are
ship, Lynas is now an $8 ened to shut down the Gebeng facility necessary, so I’ve always believed that we
billion company and this unless the waste was removed. Follow- would be spectacularly successful – it’s
year its share price broke ing some protracted negotiations and a just nice that we are.”
through $10 for the first time change in administration in early 2020, Ly- It has taken some time for Australian
since the original rare earths nas had its licence to operate in the coun- investors to wrap their heads around the
boom ended more than a try renewed for another three years and Lynas business model, in part due to the
decade ago. the company appears destined to remain cross-jurisdictional nature of the mining
The turning point for the there for some time to come. and processing operations. Since 2013,
company has undoubtedly At the height of those disputes, Wes- ore has been mined from Mt Weld, near
been the unprecedented farmers Ltd made an opportunistic bid to Laverton, on a campaign basis and then
demand for the NdPr which acquire Lynas for $1.5 billion. The offer shipped to Malaysia where high-quality
is needed for the permanent was immediately rejected by the target separated rare earth materials are pro-
magnets found in applica- with Lacaze at the time lambasting the duced for export to manufacturing mar-
tions such as electric vehi- “arrogance” of the proposal from the con- kets in Asia, Europe and the US.
cles, wind turbines, military glomerate, while also questioning its off- Lynas is celebrating a decade of mining
weapons, smart phones and shore operating credentials. at Mt Weld this year and will toast the same
tablets. At the time of print, Given the current rude health of the milestone for its Malaysian operations in
NdPr prices were comfort- Lynas business, Lacaze’s ability to rec- 2023. Lacaze said the fact the company
ably sitting above $US140/t, ognise future value appears to be under- was handing out so many 10-year pins
a far cry from the $US35/t stated. Asked if she could have foreseen pointed to more than just a strong working
of just two years ago during the success that was to come after such culture among its loyal employees across
the early stages of the COV- a challenging period for the company, both countries.
ID-19 pandemic. she said anything else was never on her “These are people who joined Lynas
Lacaze said the compa- agenda. and said, ‘yes, I think this is important’ and
ny’s current success in the “People who know me know that I don’t ‘yes, I think this is somewhere where I can
market had not come about really ever contemplate failure,” she said. build a career’,” she said.
by chance. “Everything can be managed, it’s just a “Having that longevity in key roles at
“One of the things that I
often say to investors is that Amanda Lacaze
we did the heavy lifting in the
early years,” she explained.
“Everybody wants to talk
about critical minerals, and Not only do we have the assets but we
everyone wants to talk about “ know how to run our assets.
how we need to do this bet-
ter, particularly in the west,
but for anyone who’s still at
the starting gate now that’s
difficult. We’ve done all that
heavy lifting over the past
decade. So not only do we
have the assets, but we know how to run
our assets and I think that has now put
us in a place where we can take full ad-
vantage of the fact the market is going to
grow.”
That Lynas has been able to achieve
success given both its unique market po-
sition as the only major rare earths pro-
ducer outside of China and the logistical
challenge of operating across multiple ju-
risdictions is testament to the company’s
resilience since switching on the Mt Weld
mine in Western Australia and its separa-
tion plant in Malaysia.
As Lacaze alluded to, it has not always
been smooth sailing for the company.

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