A US majority-owned startup plans to invest $600 million in a rare-earth refinery in Malaysia, seeking to develop a new source of critical minerals as Washington pushes to reduce reliance on China. DTEC Mineral and Metal Technology expects to set up the plant within the next three years, CEO Milan Perlly said. It became the first company to receive permission under Malaysia's eased export rules to ship unprocessed rare-earth material to the US.
The project supports efforts by Malaysia and the US to develop new sources of rare earths outside China, which dominates processing. Rare earths are essential for electric vehicles, electronics, wind turbines and advanced weapons. Perlly stated the larger goal is to make Malaysia the rare-earth elements processing hub for ionic clay in the region.
Much of Malaysia's identified resources are found in ion-adsorption clay deposits, where elements are loosely bound to clay, potentially making them easier and cheaper to extract. They can contain heavy rare earths used in high-performance magnets. DTEC's first refinery would have capacity to process 5,000 metric tons annually, with a combined target of 10,000 tons a year across two facilities.
Perlly aims to build one plant on the east coast and a second on the west coast. The company is considering locations in Kedah, Terengganu, Perak and Negeri Sembilan. The facilities would expand Malaysia's role beyond Australia's Lynas Rare Earths Ltd., which runs a major plant in Pahang state.
DTEC intends to develop locally sourced ionic-clay deposits and eventually operate its own mine. Malaysia has identified an estimated 16.1 million tons of rare-earth resources, much of which has yet to be proven commercially viable. The company plans to ship about 30 tons of unprocessed material to the US for research after receiving approval to export up to 700 tons.
Perlly, a Malaysian-born US citizen formerly at Capital One, and business partner David Greer own 51% of DTEC Mineral; DTEC Engineering and Construction holds the remaining 49%. The company aims to list in Malaysia and on the Nasdaq or New York Stock Exchange. The project was part of a trade and critical minerals pact signed between former President Donald Trump and Malaysian Prime Minister Anwar Ibrahim last year, making DTEC eligible for US Export-Import Bank, US International Development Finance Corporation and Department of Defense funding.
Source: Bloomberg Markets · Summarized by HeadlinesBriefing