Australian rare earth producer Australian Strategic Materials (ASM) shipped 40t of rare earth metals over July-September, up from no commercial shipments a year earlier, as it ramped up its metal processing plant in South Korea.
The company has fully funded its plan to expand the plant's rare earth metal alloy capacity from 1,300 t/yr to 3,600 t/yr of metal alloy, it said today. ASM also started planning to expand the plant's capacity to 5,600 t/yr of metal alloy during the quarter, it added.
Neodymium iron boron
ASM produced 16.7t of neodymium iron boron metal over the quarter. It also shipped 13.9t of the material to its customers, up from 2.4t in April-June.
ASM signed deals to sell 22.2t of neodymium iron boron to American producer Noveon Magnetics and German manufacturer Vacuumschmelze (VAC) in April-June. The company will deliver the metals in 2025.
ASM is also engaged in product qualification processes with customers across Asia, Europe, and the US.
Neodymium-praseodymium
ASM produced 1.7t of neodymium-praseodymium metal in July-September. It also shipped 22.2t of the metal using its stockpile, the company told Argus on 27 October.
ASM will increase neodymium-praseodymium metal production to 14t in October-December.
The company will sell a total of 29t of neodymium-praseodymium metal to Canadian magnet producer Neo Performance Metals and has plans to further expand their partnership through potential binding agreements covering supply chains and technological innovation.
Heavy rare earths
ASM produced its first batch of dysprosium and terbium metal in July 2025, selling 2kg of each to Neo.
The company will produce and deliver another 13kg of heavy rare earth metals to customers over October-December.
ASM's ramp up of its South Korean plant comes at a time when the US and Australian governments are preparing to collaborate on critical mineral projects.
The two governments will invest $1bn each into critical mineral developments – including, though not limited to, rare earth mines and plants – over the next six months, they said on 20 October.
The US Export-Import Bank agreed to provide three Australian rare earth developers – Arafura Rare Earths, Northern Minerals, and VHM – with up to $700mn in co-funding, alongside Australian backers, on 21 October.
