JOHANNESBURG (miningweekly.com) – Rare earths miner Lynas Corporation on Tuesday reported exceeding its production guidance of neodymium-praseodymium (NdPr) during the three months ended December 31, delivering 1 331 t.

This was also an increase from the 1 176 t it produced in the previous quarter, with total rare-earth oxides increasing to 3 913 t, from the 3 665 t in the September quarter.

“These production increases highlight a continuation of solid production and operational performance. We expect these improvements in production to be sustainable,” the company said in a statement, noting that the improved production further underpinned better financial outcomes.

Invoiced sales reached a new high of A$65-million, up from A$53.8-million in the previous three months, reflecting record sales of NdPr and good volume of other products. Cash receipts also reached a new high at A$58.3-million for the quarter.

Further, the company noted that despite continued low prices for rare earth products, its operating cash flow improved significantly on a quarter-on-quarter comparative basis, rising from A$1.7-million to A$5-million.

Cash flow after investing activities, primarily capital expenditure, was A$4.4-million.

Lynas also achieved record sales during the quarter, with A$65-million in invoiced sales, up from A$53.8-million in the September quarter.

During the December quarter, planning was also finalised for its first mining campaign at Mount Weld, in Western Australia, since 2008, which was now set to start this month.

The total cost of the mining campaign, which should provide one year of mill feed, is expected to be about A$3-million, with costs incurred in the March quarter and the June quarter.

“We expect demand to remain strong over the coming period and are hopeful the recent firming in price for lanthanum and cerium may also be reflected for other rare earth products,” Lynas stated.