Rare earth processing facility planned for Seadrift

Energy and Environment Reporter

Before moving to the Crossroads, Leo Bertucci studied journalism and political science at Western Kentucky University.

To support reporting like this, and to help support and preserve high-quality, community journalism, please consider a donation to the Morris Roberts Local Journalism Foundation.

Lynas Rare Earths purchased 149 acres of land in Seadrift, where a rare earths processing facility could be developed.

SEADRIFT — An Australian rare earth metal producer announced Monday it has purchased land for a processing facility in the Crossroads.

Rare earth elements, which are essential to the technologies found in smartphones, electric cars and renewable energy facilities, are mostly produced in China, according to the Foreign Policy Research Institute.

Lynas Rare Earths, the company which acquired 149 acres in Seadrift from Union Carbide Corp., mines rare earth metals in Australia and processes them in Australia and at a plant in Malaysia.

If Lynas constructs a plant in Seadrift, it would be the company’s first U.S. facility.

“The site was selected for its proximity to a skilled workforce, potential customers, infrastructure and logistics,” Lynas wrote in a quarterly report Monday. “This large site will allow for co-location of Heavy Rare Earths and Light Rare Earth separation and processing as well as potential future growth opportunities.”

Lynas does not have a definitive timeline for when it would construct and begin operations in Seadrift, company spokesperson Emily Woodell said.

“It’ll be a few years before it’s fully operational,” Woodell said.

Jonas Titas, president of the Victoria Economic Development Corporation, said Lynas’ facility could accommodate 300 permanent jobs.

“We are extremely elated that the future technological components of the U.S. economy will be produced in our region,” Titas said.

On the periodic table, rare earths make up the 15 elements in the lanthanide series, Woodell said. Each element goes into one of two categories, heavy and light.

A Lynas facility in Seadrift would separate and process both heavy and light rare earth metals, Woodell said.

“(Rare earths) are really sought after by manufacturers as a central input in electronics and permanent magnet motors,” Woodell said. “If you think about electric vehicles and wind turbines, these (rare earths) are a central component of that.”

The Seadrift project also has the federal government’s attention. Lynas announced the U.S. Department of Defense will reimburse the company for its construction costs, up to $258 million.

Lynas has a property tax abatement agreement with the Calhoun Independent School District. The rare earths producer has not yet asked Calhoun County for tax incentives, Titas said.

“Calhoun County commissioners are open to supporting a tax abatement request if it would help make the project 100% official,” said Titas, who assists companies new to a county work with the commissioners court on tax incentives.

Two years prior to Lynas’ announcement of its land acquisition in Seadrift, the company had considered building a heavy rare earth separation facility in Hondo, 45 miles west of San Antonio. Titas said the project never developed.

Woodell, the Lynas spokesperson, said the Seadrift project is the only Texas site the company is associated with.

The Hondo Economic Development Corporation did not respond to a request for comment on what happened to the Lynas project in its city.

Leo Bertucci is a Report for America corps member who covers energy and environment for the Victoria Advocate.

"The big piece is the capital investment," said Jonas Titas of the VEDC. "It's about a $2 billion project."

Energy and Environment Reporter

Before moving to the Crossroads, Leo Bertucci studied journalism and political science at Western Kentucky University.

To support reporting like this, and to help support and preserve high-quality, community journalism, please consider a donation to the Morris Roberts Local Journalism Foundation.

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