Lynas Rare Earths’ production concerns persist

FILE PHOTO: Rare earths dug up and processed into concentrate at Mount Weld in Western Australia, are pictured after being shipped to the Lynas plant in Gebeng, Malaysia, July 3, 2014. REUTERS/Sonali Paul/File Photo

MELBOURNE: Lynas Rare Earths Ltd of Australia says that it will focus on getting its Kalgoorlie plant operational, despite concerns that its Malaysian facility will have to be partially shut down after a 4% drop in first-half profit.

The world’s biggest producer of rare earth metals outside China faces the prospect that its Malaysian cracking and leaching plant may have to shut after regulators halted it from importing and processing rare earth concentrate after July 1.