Canada Rare Earth to Revive Permitted Rare Earth Refinery in Laos

Canada Rare Earth

Vancouver-based Canada Rare Earth has announced a significant step in its rare earth strategy, entering into an agreement to acquire a 70% stake in a fully-permitted rare earth refinery in Laos. The company plans to refurbish the existing facility and bring it online by the fourth quarter of 2025.

Refinery Details and Strategic Importance

The refinery, designed to process rare earth concentrates and produce a full range of commercially traded rare earth oxides, including both light and heavy rare earth elements, boasts a production capacity of 3,000 tonnes per year of rare earth oxides.  Although constructed 12 years ago, the refinery has remained idle due to past policy changes.  With the reversal of these policies and strong government support, the project is now poised to contribute to the global rare earth supply chain.  The Laotian government is actively promoting the processing of domestically mined rare earth concentrates at the refinery, capitalizing on the numerous ion-absorption clay deposits currently under development in northern Laos.

Securing Feedstock and Offtake Agreements

Canada Rare Earth is actively engaged in discussions with potential offtake partners and investors. The company anticipates securing pre-payments and credit facilities to support refinery operations, ensuring a stable supply of key rare earth oxides like neodymium, praseodymium, dysprosium, and terbium.  Furthermore, Canada Rare Earth has signed a memorandum of understanding for a potential 70:30 joint venture with a Laotian company to co-develop an advanced exploration-stage ion-absorption clay rare earth mining project. 

This strategic move could establish a vertically integrated mine-to-refinery supply chain in the future, providing a secure and reliable feedstock source for the refinery. This vertical integration strategy by Canada Rare Earth could be a significant development in the rare earth industry, potentially reducing reliance on external suppliers and enhancing supply chain security.