Australian critical mineral producers advance U.S. processing plans

[Semiconductor materials diplomacy, Germanium and Gallium trade control, U.S. - China trade truce : A CPU chip rests atop a Periodic Table highlighting rare earth elements like Gallium, Germanium.]
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Some of Australia's well-known critical mineral producers are said to be moving forward on plans to build processing facilities in the United States.

An Australian delegation of critical minerals companies visited Washington and New York last week to meet senior administration officials and investors.

ASX-listed firms, including Australian Strategic Materials (OTCPK:ASMMF [https://seekingalpha.com/symbol/ASMMF]), Ionic Rare Earths (OTCPK:IXRRF [https://seekingalpha.com/symbol/IXRRF]), and International Graphite, are looking to expand in the U.S., company executives told _Reuters_.

The scale of the U.S. customer base is a major attraction, they said, given its rapidly developing electric vehicle, defense, and advanced manufacturing industries, as well as cheap energy and the hefty subsidies it is set to deploy.

"We've identified six states as ones that we're looking at seriously," said Chief Legal Officer Annaliese Eames of ASM, which is seeking to expand beyond its rare earths metallization plant in Korea.

Of those states, ASM, an $85 million firm, is conducting detailed due diligence, including reviewing sites, in Oklahoma and South Carolina.

What drew ASM to the U.S. was more than strong federal and state support and incentives. "It's the commitment that they're making to grow the entire ecosystem," she said.

Ex-China rare earth production is growing in a number of friendly jurisdictions. Lynas Rare Earths (OTCPK:LYSCF [https://seekingalpha.com/symbol/LYSCF]) has been growing NdPr production at its Mount Weld mine in Australia. That concentrate is sent to Malaysia, a country that now also mines rare earths for processing.

Some critical minerals firms, like Ionic Rare Earths, plans to replicate their Belfast-developed magnet recycling tech in several U.S. states, including Tennessee, where advanced talks are underway, Managing Director Tim Harrison told _Reuters_.

As part of an effort to diversify sourcing [https://seekingalpha.com/news/4486276-sa-roundtable-whats-next-for-the-rare-earths-sector], the U.S. government recently announced it was investing $400 million in American rare earths miner MP Materials (MP [https://seekingalpha.com/symbol/MP]).

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