Lynas expands heavy rare earths suite with first samarium production
Australia-headquartered Lynas Rare Earths has strengthened its position in the global rare earths market, announcing on Thursday that it had produced its first samarium oxide at its Malaysian plant.
The addition of samarium oxide increases Lynas’ heavy rare earth oxide offering to three products, alongside dysprosium and terbium, reinforcing its status as the only commercial producer of separated heavy rare earths outside China.
Samarium oxide is used in high-performance permanent magnets for electronics and aerospace applications, as well as in optical, catalytic and medical technologies.
The milestone forms part of a phased expansion of Lynas Malaysia’s heavy rare earths separation facility, which was announced in October 2025. The company had previously targeted first samarium production in April 2026.
"The achievement of first Samarium oxide, on spec and ahead of schedule, is a significant milestone for Lynas and demonstrates the expertise and capability of our inhouse team which is unique outside China," commented CEO and MD Amanda Lacaze.
“The addition of Samarium oxide means that we can provide an expanded suite of Light and heavy rare earths that customers will use to produce high performance permanent magnets. This supports our objective of building diversified and resilient rare earth supply chains and is an exciting achievement in our Towards 2030 growth strategy.”
Further capacity is expected to be progressively added over the next two years, with the initial flowsheet set to include additional separated products such as gadolinium, yttrium and lutetium.
Lynas said future expansion to produce other heavy rare earths, including europium and ytterbium, would depend on securing commercial agreements that justify additional investment.
