A US majority-owned startup plans to invest US$600 million in a rare-earth refinery in Malaysia, seeking to develop a new source of the critical minerals as Washington pushes to reduce its reliance on China.
DTEC Mineral and Metal Technology expects to set up the plant in the Southeast Asian country within the next three years, Chief Executive Officer Milan Perlly said in an interview. It became the first company to receive permission recently under Malaysia’s eased export rules to ship unprocessed rare-earth material to the US.
The project would support efforts by Malaysia and the US to develop new sources of rare earths outside China, which dominates the processing of the minerals. Rare earths are essential for products ranging from electric vehicles and electronics to wind turbines and advanced weapons.
"The larger goal is to make Malaysia the rare-earth elements processing hub for ionic clay in the region,” Perlly said.
Much of Malaysia’s identified rare-earth resources are found in so-called ion-adsorption clay deposits, where the elements are loosely bound to clay rather than locked in hard rock, potentially making them easier and cheaper to extract. They can contain sought-after heavy rare earths used in high-performance magnets and other advanced technologies.
DTEC Mineral’s first refinery would have capacity to process 5,000 metric tons of rare-earth material annually, Perlly said. The company ultimately aims to build two facilities in Malaysia with combined capacity of 10,000 tons a year.
"The US wants us to build 10,000 metric tons output,” he said. "My goal is to put one plant on the east coast for 5,000 metric tons, a second plant on the west coast.”
DTEC Mineral is considering locations after holding talks with officials in the Malaysian states of Kedah, Terengganu, Perak and Negeri Sembilan, he said. The facilities would expand Malaysia’s role in the rare-earth industry beyond the processing operations of Australia’s Lynas Rare Earths Ltd., which runs a major plant in Pahang state.
DTEC Mineral intends to develop locally sourced ionic-clay deposits and eventually operate its own mine in Malaysia, Perlly said. Malaysia has identified an estimated 16.1 million tons of rare-earth resources, according to government estimates, much of which has yet to be proven commercially viable.
The company is preparing to ship about 30 tons of unprocessed rare-earth material to the US for research after receiving approval to export as much as 700 tons, he said. The shipment is intended to help determine the composition of the material and the most suitable processing technology, according to Perlly.
Read: Malaysia Allows First Export of Raw Rare Earths Under New Rules
Perlly, a Malaysian-born US citizen who formerly worked at Capital One, and business partner David Greer own 51% of DTEC Mineral. Malaysian firm DTEC Engineering and Construction holds the remaining 49%.
DTEC Mineral has ambitions to list in Malaysia and on either the Nasdaq or New York Stock Exchange, Perlly said.
The firm was part of a trade and critical minerals pact signed between President Donald Trump and Malaysian Prime Minister Anwar Ibrahim last year. Under the agreement, DTEC is eligible for funding from Export-Import Bank of the United States, US International Development Finance Corporation and the Department of Defense, according to DTEC’s website. - Bloomberg
