Australian Strategic Materials (ASM) Diggers & Dealers Mining Forum 2025 summary

Industry context and supply chain dynamics

• Over 90% of global rare earth midstream processing and magnet production is controlled by China, creating significant supply chain vulnerability.

• Geopolitical tensions, U.S. tariffs, and China's export restrictions have accelerated efforts in the U.S., EU, Korea, and Japan to establish alternative supply chains.

• Heavy rare earths are a strategic bottleneck, with global efforts to diversify supply and reduce reliance on China.

• Australia is positioned as a potential key player in breaking the rare earth supply chain stranglehold.

• Western governments and industries are moving from discussion to action to secure rare earth supply for advanced manufacturing sectors.

Strategic positioning and business model

• The company pursues a mine-to-metal strategy, integrating mining, separation, refining, and advanced manufacturing, with an advanced project in New South Wales and a metals plant in Korea producing since 2022.

• The Korean Metals Plant (KMP) and planned US Metals Plant are central to global expansion, targeting advanced manufacturing, defense, and sustainable energy sectors.

• The company is one of the few outside China with commercial heavy rare earth metallization capability, attracting collaborative interest from major customers.

• Partnerships and sales agreements with major Western magnet makers and third-party oxide providers support growth.

• Arrangements are in place for Western-sourced oxides to support growth and customer needs.

Operational progress and project milestones

• The Korean plant has seen increased demand and ramp-up following China's export restrictions, with recent success in heavy rare earth metallization and first deliveries of terbium and dysprosium.

• Expansion plans are underway for a similar facility in the U.S., with state selection and Department of Defense funding discussions ongoing.

• The Dubbo project in New South Wales is a large, fully approved polymetallic resource, now pursuing a lower-cost heat leach pathway to accelerate rare earth production.

• The new pathway reduces initial capital to A$740M, with robust financials and strong government export credit support.

• Over A$1.5B in conditional export credit agency support secured for Dubbo Project construction.