"The federal government has highlighted rare earths mined by...

"The federal government has highlighted rare earths mined by Lynas Corporation as critical to emerging technologies in a new minerals strategy to be released on Thursday to coincide with a milestone in downstream lithium processing.
The critical minerals strategy maps out a vision for Australia to become a world leader in exploration, mining, production and processing as the global economy moves to electrification.
Lynas’ Mt Weld mine north of Laverton in Western Australia is the only rare earths asset on the government’s list of major critical minerals operating and developing mines in Australia.
The strategic importance of Mt Weld was first underlined by the government in 2009 when the Foreign Investment Review Board blocked a takeover by a state-owned Chinese entity."
Threaten supply

"It is understood the US, the European Union and Japan have made behind-the-scenes appeals to the Malaysian government in recent times to keep the Lynas processing plant at Kuantan open despite pressure from some politicians over the storage of low-level radioactive waste.
Both federal and WA authorities would need to sign off on any move by Lynas, or potential suitor Wesfarmers, to bring 450,000 tonnes of waste stockpiled in Malaysia back into the country as part of any peace deal.
The most likely scenario if the waste is shipped is that it will be trucked out to Mt Weld."