Medallion Resources eyes U.S, Canada for rare-earth extraction plant

Gamma Resources

09/07/2019 12:10

July 9 (Reuters) - Tiny Canadian company Medallion Resources
Ltd  MDL.V  said on Tuesday it was looking at sites in North
America to develop a rare-earth extraction plant, as the
prolonged U.S.-China trade war turns the spotlight on the
metals. 
    Rare earths are an essential component in rechargeable
batteries that power electric and hybrid cars, while some of
them, such as neodymium and dysprosium, are also critical to the
motors used in electric vehicles.
    "We feel it is the right time to initiate the evaluation of
plant sites... as a key part of re-building a North American
rare earth value chain," Chief Executive Officer Don Lay said in
a statement on Tuesday.  urn:newsml:reuters.com:*:nGNX2bNSqN
    Rising trade tensions between the United States and China
have sparked concerns that Beijing could leverage its dominant
position as a supplier of rare earths.  urn:newsml:reuters.com:*:nL2N23Q0HZ
    Prices of neodymium metal - used in magnets and speakers -
have surged 26.5% since May 20, while those of dysprosium and
gadolinium oxide have gained around 10%. 
    Vancouver-based Medallion, which is looking to produce
magnet metal from reddish-brown phosphate mineral monazite, said
it was seeking third party proposals for the rare-earth
extraction plant. 
    California's Mountain Pass mine is the only operating U.S.
rare earths facility, while Australia's Lynas Corp Ltd  LYC.AX 
in May agreed to build a rare earth processing facility in the
country with Texas-based Blue Line Corp. 
    

 (Reporting by Arathy S Nair in Bengaluru; Editing by Sriraj
Kalluvila)
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