Carester to build rare earths separation plant in Malaysia's Perak State
2026-07-07 10:29:42 [Print]
French company Carester plans to establish a rare earths separation facility in Malaysia's Perak state as part of a 10-year joint venture with local mining firm Malaco Mining Group, its chief executive said on Monday.
CEO Frederic Carencotte added that the partnership is also seeking approval from local authorities to conduct rare earths mining using in-situ leaching techniques in plantation areas across several Malaysian states, though specific locations were not disclosed.
According to a January briefing by the environment ministry to parliament, Malaysia holds an estimated 274,144 metric tons of rare earths deposits spread across nine states.
The country is already home to the largest rare earths processing plant outside China, operated by Australia's Lynas Rare Earths.
Carencotte said the planned separation plant would have an annual processing capacity of approximately 13,000 tons of rare earths. He noted that the projects aim to extract actinium-a rare earth element used in medical product manufacturing-which emits only minuscule levels of radiation.
The facility will produce both light and heavy rare earths, including neodymium, praseodymium, dysprosium, and terbium.
CEO Frederic Carencotte added that the partnership is also seeking approval from local authorities to conduct rare earths mining using in-situ leaching techniques in plantation areas across several Malaysian states, though specific locations were not disclosed.
According to a January briefing by the environment ministry to parliament, Malaysia holds an estimated 274,144 metric tons of rare earths deposits spread across nine states.
The country is already home to the largest rare earths processing plant outside China, operated by Australia's Lynas Rare Earths.
Carencotte said the planned separation plant would have an annual processing capacity of approximately 13,000 tons of rare earths. He noted that the projects aim to extract actinium-a rare earth element used in medical product manufacturing-which emits only minuscule levels of radiation.
The facility will produce both light and heavy rare earths, including neodymium, praseodymium, dysprosium, and terbium.
