US-owned startup plans US$600 mil Malaysia rare-earth refinery
A US majority-owned startup plans to invest US$600 million in a rare-earth refinery in Malaysia, seeking to develop a new source of the critical minerals as Washington pushes to reduce its reliance on China.
DTEC Mineral and Metal Technology expects to set up the plant within the next three years, chief executive Milan Perlly said. It became the first company to receive permission recently under Malaysia's eased export rules to ship unprocessed rare-earth material to the US, and is preparing to ship about 30 tons of unprocessed material for research after receiving approval to export as much as 700 tons.
The first refinery would have capacity to process 5,000 metric tons of rare-earth material annually, with the company ultimately aiming to build two facilities in Malaysia with combined capacity of 10,000 tons a year. "The US wants us to build 10,000 metric tons output," Perlly said, adding that he wants one plant on the east coast and a second on the west coast. DTEC Mineral is considering locations after holding talks with officials in the Malaysian states of Kedah, Terengganu, Perak and Negeri Sembilan.
Much of Malaysia's identified rare-earth resources are found in ion-adsorption clay deposits, where the elements are loosely bound to clay rather than locked in hard rock, potentially making them easier and cheaper to extract. They can contain sought-after heavy rare earths used in high-performance magnets and other advanced technologies. Malaysia has identified an estimated 16.1 million tons of rare-earth resources, according to government estimates, much of which has yet to be proven commercially viable. DTEC Mineral intends to develop locally sourced ionic-clay deposits and eventually operate its own mine in Malaysia.
Perlly, a Malaysian-born US citizen who formerly worked at Capital One, and business partner David Greer own 51% of DTEC Mineral. Malaysian firm DTEC Engineering and Construction holds the remaining 49%. The company was part of a trade and critical minerals pact signed between US President Donald Trump and Malaysian Prime Minister Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim last year, making it eligible for funding from the Export–Import Bank of the United States, US International Development Finance Corporation and the Department of Defense, according to DTEC's website. DTEC Mineral also has ambitions to list in Malaysia and on either the Nasdaq or New York Stock Exchange.
