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Inside The Rare-Earth Race to Build Supply Chains Beyond China - Video học tiếng Anh
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Inside The Rare-Earth Race to Build Supply Chains Beyond China
Inside The Rare-Earth Race to Build Supply Chains Beyond China
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0:01
At first glance, the port town of Kuantan, Malaysia,
0:04
feels far removed from the geopolitical turmoil shaping the global economy.
0:10
But just outside the city, is a company at the center of one of them.
0:14
We're pretty confident that we're just as good as
0:16
the Chinese are in terms of our solvent extraction processes.
0:20
Lynas Rare Earths has emerged as a key player in the push
0:24
to diversify global rare earth supply chains.
0:27
But a decade ago, the company was fighting for survival.
0:31
I put my hand up because if the business went under,
0:34
it was the technician on the tunnel furnace who would lose his job.
0:38
That decision helped set in motion a dramatic corporate turnaround.
0:42
I went inside Lynas for what would become Amanda Lacaze's final interview as CEO.
0:56
Rare earths have become one of the world's most strategic materials. They help make the
1:01
powerful magnets used in electric vehicles, wind turbines, and advanced defense systems.
1:07
For decades, China has dominated the supply chain,
1:10
still handling about 85% of rare earth refining globally.
1:19
Here in Kuantan, Lynas separates and refines rare earths mined at Mount Weld in Western Australia.
1:26
Its plant is the largest rare earth processing facility outside China.
1:31
Lynas Rare Earths recently opened the plant to journalists, offering a closer
1:35
look inside an industry now at the center of geopolitics, trade, and the energy transition.
1:41
But the company wasn't always in this position.
1:44
When Amanda Lacaze took over in 2014,
1:48
Lynas was struggling financially and facing an uncertain future.
1:52
Under her leadership, it moved from crisis to becoming a major global supplier.
1:57
As we walked through the plant,
1:59
I asked why she was willing to take on a company so close to the edge.
2:04
Amanda, you came in from outside into a company in crisis. In one of the most
2:09
complex industries ever, what went through your mind when you decided to take on the top job?
2:14
I joined the board, it became obvious that there was an issue. I either
2:17
had to put my hand up to be part of the solution or I needed to resign.
2:22
You put your hand up.
2:22
And I put my hand up. Why did I do that? Because the people in the business
2:26
deserved someone to give it their very best shot, because if the business went under,
2:31
it was the technician on the tunnel furnace who would lose his job,
2:35
and there was no golden parachute for him. So, I needed to do that.
2:39
Turning around the company is one thing,
2:41
but turning around a company that will be strong enough to compete with China
2:44
in rare earths is another thing. Did that put a lot of pressure on you?
2:48
I don't really believe in pressure, right? I think if you've got a challenge,
2:52
you're best bringing all of your energy to dealing with the challenge, not to sitting
2:57
and being self-indulgent and thinking, "Oh, poor little me, isn't this tough?" So, I'm confident.
3:02
We've got good people in Australia, we've got good people in Malaysia. We put all of that together,
3:08
we all do our best work every day, not only can we compete with anyone, we can win.
3:14
For Lacaze, that confidence was hard-earned.
3:17
When she took over in 2014, Lynas was carrying far more debt than cash. That year's accounts showed
3:24
about $38 million Australian dollars in cash, against more than $440 million in borrowings.
3:32
When I arrived, we had no money in the bank. We had difficult relationships with our lenders. We
3:41
had a billion-dollar plant that wasn't operating. All we could do and all we did do was to approach
3:49
each problem with discipline and resilience because you won't get it right first time.
3:55
So, really taking all of our challenges and breaking them
4:00
down into bite-size chunks and making sure our people knew how
4:05
they could contribute to fixing things, made a huge difference.
4:11
But cost cutting alone wasn't enough. Lynas still needed capital.
4:15
One of its key backers was Japan Australia Rare Earths or JARE,
4:20
a partnership between Japan state-backed resource agency JOGMEC and trading company, Sojitz.
4:27
In 2011, JARE provided Lynas with $250 million US dollars in loans and equity.
4:34
The partnership deepened in 2023 with roughly another $130 million dollars invested as
4:43
Lynas expanded into more complex, higher value rare earth elements.
4:48
By 2026, Lynas had agreed to supply Japan with 75% of its medium and heavy rare earth production.
4:58
For Lynas, the relationship brought capital and a committed customer. For Japan,
5:03
it created a more secure supply route beyond China.
5:08
So, if you think about it, Japan did not just rescue Lynas,
5:13
it actually helped to create a first real alternative to China?
5:19
Well, actually, it's more than that. Japan actually invented rare earths technology. But then
5:26
they lost the lead in terms of market position to China. But it's the Japanese material scientists
5:35
who really developed rare earths technology, rare earths magnets. It's just not growing as fast -
5:40
So, they're using you to regain lost ground?
5:42
Markets where you have more competitors and more activity will be more innovative,
5:48
will do more interesting things technically than markets which are sole suppliers. So, I think that
5:56
together we are working and our objective is to build a bigger outside China market.
6:02
Inside this warehouse, the rare earth supply chain becomes tangible.
6:07
The bags stacked around us each hold one metric ton, about 2,200 lbs. of
6:14
separated rare earth oxides ready to be shipped to manufacturers around the world.
6:20
Among them is NdPr, or neodymium-praseodymium oxide, used to make the high-strength permanent
6:28
magnets inside electric vehicles, wind turbines and other advanced technologies.
6:34
So, Amanda, what's in these bags, and what's the costing like for each bag of oxide that I see?
6:40
Yeah, so the ones with the pink loops are NDPR. Actually, the ones with the pink and blue are
6:48
ND and the ones with the pink and yellow are PR. So, today NDPR, the published price in
6:56
Asian metal is around about $100 dollars a kilo. That bag has 1,000 kilos in it.
7:03
Wow, do the math.
7:03
So that bag - indeed - is worth about $100,000 dollars.
7:07
Okay.
7:08
So, we tell our operators, especially the ones who are driving forklifts,
7:13
just be careful because it would be best if they don't actually hit the bag.
7:18
What's the demand like?
7:19
Demand, you can see we've got a big warehouse here. It's not very
7:23
full. That's because as we make this product, it goes out straight away.
7:27
Demand is growing at around about 10% per annum and forecast to continue to do that,
7:34
or more, at least for the next 10 years.
7:38
China has spent decades mastering its separation and refining capabilities. What was the toughest
7:47
challenge you faced trying to build and scale up the kind of capability here at Lynas?
7:53
Oh, that is a very long list of things.
7:58
What was the toughest challenge you faced?
7:59
Well, the trickiest part of the plant, chemically, is the solvent extraction
8:05
area. The trickiest part of the plant, mechanically, is the cracking and leaching
8:12
plant. The trickiest part of the plant in terms of quality, is product finishing. And of course -
8:19
That's a long list.
8:20
Exactly. And that's all just here in Malaysia. You know, back in Australia,
8:26
we have challenges there in terms of learning how to actually process that material at Mount
8:33
Weld. Learning how to operate in an environment where water is almost as valuable as rare earths.
8:40
Do you think you've closed the gap with China as far as separation technologies are concerned?
8:45
Very, very confidently. We would say that maybe Northern Rare Earths in a couple of areas, which
8:52
is the largest of the Chinese firms, is still just ahead of us, but we are a very fast number two.
8:58
We would be confident there are some things that we have
9:01
done in our flow sheet which would put us ahead.
9:05
But that capability comes with trade-offs. Rare earth
9:09
processing can generate residue containing naturally occurring radioactive material.
9:15
For more than a decade, Lynas has faced protests,
9:18
regulatory scrutiny, and public debate in Malaysia over how that waste is managed.
9:24
In March 2026, Malaysian authorities renewed the company's operating license for 10 years,
9:30
but with tougher conditions and a full review after five.
9:35
By 2031, the company must stop producing its radioactive processing residue. Any generated
9:42
during those first five years must be treated so it is no longer radioactive before disposal.
9:49
How do you deal with a public outcry and rebuild trust?
9:54
What's really important is that you deal in facts, not fantasy.
9:58
Any time that you mine any material, you are likely to have naturally occurring
10:04
radioactive material come along with it because the earth is radioactive.
10:09
The Lynas material, which comes from Mount Weld, it's two billion years old,
10:14
and so in fact the radioactivity has significantly reduced over that time,
10:20
but it is very low level. It's about 6 becquerels per gram.
10:24
We actually have people who work in particular parts of the plant
10:27
wear radiation monitors. It has never gone above background radiation levels.
10:31
So, you are taking steps. You are putting in the systems and the
10:34
processes in place to contain any hazardous risks?
10:37
Oh absolutely. Absolutely. Processing rare earths is a dirty business. You know what?
10:44
Any industrial activity undertaken on this earth,
10:49
you can either manage it in a way which is safe and sustainable, or you can choose not to, right?
10:56
Managing in a way, and at our core of our culture is that what we will do
11:00
will be safe for our people, safe for our communities, and safe for the environment.
11:07
For a decade, Lynas was focused on survival. Now, it's planning for growth.
11:12
The company's 2030 strategy lays out an ambitious road map for expansion.
11:18
What's the next big move that could really further challenge China's grip and dominance?
11:24
We think that the next thing to ensure that the industry
11:28
grows is to have more outside China metal and magnet making.
11:33
So, we are partnering with metal and magnet makers. And so far this year,
11:39
we've announced a partnership with JS Link, which is a Korean company,
11:43
and LS Cable, which is another Korean company.
11:46
With LS Cable, we're going to focus on metal making in the first instance. JS
11:51
Link alongside Lynas is going to invest in developing a magnet plant here in Malaysia.
11:57
After 12 years of leading the company, Amanda Lacaze has stepped down as CEO.
12:03
When you look at this chapter of your life, what do you want your legacy to be?
12:07
Oh, I think that it can be a bit silly to worry about legacies.
12:12
I've observed through my life that when you leave a corporation, it's a bit like taking
12:20
your hand out of a bucket of water. Five seconds later you can't see where it was.
12:25
If I've done my job well, the business should not skip a beat just because I'm
12:31
not here. But I would hope that my legacy is that the people who have worked in this
12:38
business with me can do things now that they couldn't do 12 years ago.
12:47
I get my joy at work out of seeing people do
12:52
things they might not have been able to do without my leadership.
12:55
And that you've made a difference.
12:57
Absolutely.
12:58
Not many women get to run a mining company that's caught right smack in
13:03
the middle of global supply chain and at the center of geopolitics.
13:06
How do you handle the volatility? How has it changed you as a leader?
13:10
I would start that question, Christine, with not many women get to run a company,
13:15
right? And that is a problem.
13:18
And people say to me, you know, mining male dominated. You know what,
13:21
I started my career in fast moving consumer goods. Guess what? It was male dominated.
13:26
I worked in industrial chemicals. Guess what? It was male dominated. I worked in
13:30
agriculture. Guess what? It was male dominated. I worked in telecommunications. Guess what? It
13:35
was male dominated, and then I went and worked in mining. And so why did I keep doing that? Because
13:41
I wanted to prove there was a better way to run companies than, traditionally, they have been.
13:47
I don't think it changed me as much as hopefully I changed it.
13:53
Maybe if you talk about legacy, that is something of which I would
13:58
be extraordinarily proud - is that now men can imagine women running a mining company.
14:07
You know, their default picture of a CEO is a man. Right? And so,
14:14
for those of us who are able to change that, then they start to have a picture
14:20
in their head which looks like a woman, and that's great for the next generation of women
14:27
coming through. And I think that that is really, really important.
14:31
Amanda, thank you so much for talking to me.
14:33
Thank you, Christine. Thank you.
