# Lynas Texas plant 'unlikely to proceed' as DoD backs MP Materials; Malaysia relicensed to 2036 > CEO Amanda Lacaze says Seadrift construction may not proceed without DoD offtake; Kuantan plant secured a 10-year licence but must eliminate radioactive waste by 2031; Malaysian DoE blocked the planned capacity expansion **Meta:** type: story · date: 2026-03-04 · heads: 长远之局, 谁的钱 · 5 takes · 4 lenses · 2 regions ## Summary Lynas Rare Earths, the world's largest rare earth producer outside China, faces a bifurcated strategic challenge: its Malaysian Kuantan (LAMP) refinery secured a 10-year operating licence renewal to March 2036 from Malaysia's Atomic Energy Licensing Board in March 2026, but under strict conditions requiring elimination of radioactive Water Leach Purification (WLP) residue production by 2031, and its planned capacity expansion from 95,000t to 110,000t per year was separately blocked by Malaysia's Department of Environment. In the United States, CEO Amanda Lacaze has stated the proposed Seadrift, Texas separation facility "might not proceed" without DoD offtake on acceptable terms. Washington's decision to invest $400m equity in [MP Materials](/zh/n/mp-materials-magnet-ramp) and extend it a $150m government loan, making MP the Pentagon's primary domestic rare earth partner, has effectively crowded out Lynas's US government contracting ambitions. Lynas increased saleable rare earth oxide output 19% year on year to 6,375t in H2 2025 and aims to produce separated samarium from April 2026, expanding into gadolinium, yttrium and lutetium by 2028. ## The split Lynas and Australian government framing emphasises the Malaysia relicensing as a strategic win: 10 more years of certainty for the only meaningful non-Chinese rare earth processing operation at scale. Environmental and Malaysian civil society framing treats the 2031 WLP deadline as the real test of whether Lynas can sustain community consent; they have long criticised the radioactive residue storage. The US government choice to back MP Materials over Lynas signals a preference for fully domestic production chains over allied-country production, a distinction that matters for DoD supply-chain risk frameworks. Industry analysts note the Texas facility's suspension confirms the thesis that non-Chinese rare earth processing can only be unilaterally viable in countries either with direct government backstops (MP/DoD) or strong bilateral strategic frameworks. ## By the numbers - March 2036, Lynas Malaysia LAMP licence renewed until (10-year term). - 2031, deadline for Lynas to eliminate radioactive WLP residue production at Kuantan. - 95,000t → 110,000t, the rejected Lynas Pahang expansion (Malaysian DoE blocking). - 6,375t, Lynas saleable REO output H2 2025 (up 19% year on year). - $400m, US DoD equity investment in competing producer MP Materials (July 2025). - 23,000t/year, planned maximum REO capacity of a future Australian heavy rare earth refinery described in Queensland prospectus materials (not yet operating). ## Why it matters Lynas operates the only non-Chinese NdPr separation facility operating at significant scale today. If the Texas facility does not proceed, the world's rare earth processing diversity outside China remains anchored exclusively to Malaysia, with its 2031 WLP obligation introducing a potential production-constraint cliff. The block on the Pahang expansion also limits Lynas's output growth exactly as [NdPr prices surged](/zh/n/ndpr-price-surge-2026) and demand from [Japan](/zh/n/china-rare-earth-japan-controls), Europe and the US is rising. The 2031 radioactive-waste deadline is the company's most constrained planning horizon: it requires either a completed alternative waste-processing solution or a partial relocation of processing back to Australia. ## What to watch - Whether Lynas can develop a WLP recycling or safe-disposal solution before the 2031 Malaysian deadline. - Any renewed US DoD engagement with Lynas for Texas heavy rare earth separation, possibly on different terms. - Lynas's samarium, gadolinium and yttrium production ramp as the company seeks to monetise the full rare earth basket beyond NdPr. - Australia's own rare earth processing investment, particularly the Queensland hub strategy and potential Lynas in-country refining expansion. ## Regional takes (batched by bias / lens) ### sector-specialist - **Rare Earth Exchanges** (United States, en) — Reports CEO Amanda Lacaze's public statement that the Seadrift, Texas plant 'might not proceed' unless Lynas secures DoD offtake on acceptable terms; notes that Washington's $400m equity stake and $150m loan to MP Materials effectively made MP the US government's preferred domestic rare earth partner, crowding out Lynas's US ambitions. > "Lynas Texas looks unlikely to proceed unless the company can secure DoD offtake on acceptable terms, after Washington chose MP Materials as its strategic partner." Source: https://rareearthexchanges.com/news/lynas-texas-project-in-limbo-amid-u-s-america-first-shift/ ### mining trade - **The Metalnomist** (Global, en) — Reports the Atomic Energy Licensing Board (AELB) renewal of Lynas's Malaysia operating licence for 10 years to March 2036, with strict conditions requiring elimination of radioactive waste (Water Leach Purification residue) production by 2031; also reports that the Malaysian Department of Environment blocked Lynas's planned expansion from 95,000t to 110,000t lanthanide concentrate processing per year at the Pahang refinery. > "Lynas's Malaysian licence extended to 2036, but only if the company eliminates radioactive waste by 2031 and after regulators blocked its planned capacity expansion." Source: https://www.metalnomist.com/2026/05/lynas-rare-earths-permit-extension.html ### environmental - **EnviroLink Network** (Global, en) — Details the Malaysian government's environmental conditions: Lynas must halt production of radioactive Water Leach Purification residue at the Kuantan LAMP by 2031, a commitment environmentalists and local communities had demanded for years; notes that Malaysia initially considered not renewing the licence but pivoted after Australia engaged diplomatically. > "Malaysia extends Lynas's rare earth licence but demands an end to radioactive waste by 2031." Source: https://www.envirolink.org/2026/03/04/malaysia-extends-rare-earth-mining-license-but-demands-end-to-radioactive-waste-by-2031/ ### unlabelled - **Mining.com** (Global, en) — Source: https://www.mining.com/lynas-becomes-first-producer-of-heavy-rare-earths-outside-china/ - **Supply Chain Brain** (United States, en) — Source: https://www.supplychainbrain.com/articles/38347-lynas-allowed-to-still-import-and-process-rare-earths-in-malaysia-until-2026 ## Across the graph - Related: [[mp-materials-magnet-ramp]], [[china-rare-earth-controls]], [[china-rare-earth-japan-controls]] - Entities: Lynas, Rare Earth Magnets, Neodymium, Dysprosium --- Canonical: https://rbtfl.xyz/zh/n/lynas-texas-limbo