PERTH (miningweekly.com) – Rare earths miner Lynas has reported a solid first quarter of production as the company toed the line applied by the Malaysian government.

Lynas on Monday reported that neodymium and praseodymium (NdPr) production for the three months to September had reached 1 242 t, compared with the 1 505 t produced in the previous quarter, while total rare earth production decreased from 4 651 t to 3 926 t.

CEO and MD Amanda Lacaze on Monday said that Lynas was yet to receive approval for the uplift in lanthanide concentrate processing limit for the 2019 calendar year, and while the company continued to work with the regulator, production during the second half of the 2019 calendar year is being managed at reduced rates.

“This is a different strategy from 2018, when we maintained maximum rates and then entered into a complete plant shutdown in December. Starting up after a complete shutdown was not optimal and maintaining production at a slightly lower rate will avoid a complete shutdown of the plant, should approval not be received prior to December 2019.

“If the approval is not received in time, total NdPr production for 2019 will be similar to 2018,” Lacaze said.

Meanwhile, rare earth oxide sales volumes for the quarter under review decreased slightly from 4 723 t in the fourth quarter, to 4 186 t.

Sales revenue for the quarter reached A$99.1-million, despite the volatile market conditions, Lacaze said, compared with the A$87.5-million achieved in the previous quarter, as sales prices increased.

During the September quarter, Lynas continued to prioritise the sales of NdPr to strategic customers, specifically in Japan, in anticipation of the strong growth forecast in the Japanese magnet market in the upcoming calendar year.

Lacaze said that the company also received increasing interest from magnet buyers in Europe and the US, seeking long-term raw material contracts to secure their supply chain.