Processed rare earth exports from a Malaysian plant owned by Australian miner Lynas Corp could hit RM8 billion(US$2.6 billion) a year from 2013 based on current prices, a top company official said, as buyers chase supplies outside China.

Lynas’s forecast is a more than nine-fold increase from earlier projections of RM 880 million in 2009 and would be the equivalent of about 1 percent of Malaysia’s gross domestic product, Lynas executive vice-president of strategy and corporate communication Matthew James said.

The Lynas Advanced Materials Plant in Pahang is slated to begin production in September 2011, making it a key global supplier, after top rare earths producer China last year imposed export quotas to retain supply.

“Lynas is a key part of that supply response,” James said in a telephone interview from Sydney today.

“Malaysia will become the go-to destination for value-added exports. Companies requiring rare earths would eventually locate on the east coast of Malaysia. Lynas is acting as a seed for future investments,” he added.

Lynas’ Malaysia plant will process rare earth concentrate shipped in from the firm’s Mount Weld site in Western Australia. The site is scheduled to produce its first feed of ore in the week of March 31.   

- Reuters