Minister for Resources and Northern Australia Madeleine King has officially opened the Lynas Rare Earths processing plant in Kalgoorlie, which will create jobs and boost Australia’s ability to diversify the global supply of critical minerals.

The new Lynas plant will create around 115 direct jobs in the Goldfields region by processing ores from the nearby Mt Weld mine to create a mixed rare earth carbonate.

This facility is globally significant. It will be the first rare earths processing facility in Australia, and the largest outside of China.

Minister King congratulated Lynas on the milestone and said the plant opening was an important step for Australia’s critical minerals industry and the Albanese Government’s ambitions of growing the nation’s downstream processing capabilities.

“This opening is a big deal for Kalgoorlie, a huge deal for Western Australia and a massive step for Australia,” Minister King said.

“Processing more of our critical minerals and rare earths here in this country is a big part of the Albanese Government’s plans for Building Australia’s Future.

“Projects like the Lynas Rare Earths Processing Facility will deliver direct economic benefits to Australia while strengthening our sovereign capability.”

Critical minerals and rare earths elements are essential for the clean energy technologies such as electric vehicles, solar panels and wind turbines, as well as advanced electronics, the defence industry and medical devices.