澳大利亚稀土公司Lynas Rare Earths Ltd.将在一项价值约9.68亿澳元（6.72亿美元）的全股票交易中收购Meteoric Resources Ltd.，从而获得巴西一处新的关键矿物矿床。
By Paul-Alain Hunt Australia’s Lynas Rare Earths Ltd. will acquire Meteoric Resources Ltd. in an all-share deal worth about A$968 million ($672 million), giving it access to a new deposit of the critical minerals in Brazil.
Lynas是中国以外规模最大的稀土生产商。公司在一份声明中表示，正在通过此次收购推动资源来源多元化。公司补充称，Meteoric每1股股票将换取0.0207股Lynas股票。
Lynas is the largest rare earths producer outside of China. It is seeking to diversify its resources through the acquisition, the company said in a statement. It will offer 0.0207 shares in Lynas for every one in Meteoric, it added.
在澳大利亚首富吉娜·莱因哈特的支持下，Lynas目前在澳大利亚开采稀土，并在马来西亚加工这些材料。稀土被用于制造永磁体，广泛应用于军事装备、智能手机等各个领域。
Backed by Australia’s richest person, Gina Rinehart, Lynas currently mines rare earths — used in permanent magnets for everything from military applications to smartphones — in Australia and processes the material in Malaysia.
Lynas董事长约翰·汉弗莱在声明中表示：“将业务拓展至一个新的国家，将帮助Lynas维持其在全球稀土供应链中的领先地位，并满足客户对稀土材料日益增长的需求。巴西是一个成熟且对矿业友好的司法辖区，其稀土储量在中国以外位居首位。”总部位于珀斯的Meteoric一直在开发位于巴西的Caldeira矿山。Lynas表示，预计该项目的开发成本将超过5亿美元，并将就潜在的加工机会开展进一步研究。
“Expanding our operations into a new country will help Lynas maintain its leading position in the global rare earths supply chain and meet increased customer demand for rare earth materials,” Lynas’ Chairman John Humphrey said in the statement. “Brazil is a well-established and supportive mining jurisdiction and its rare earth reserves are the largest outside China.”Perth-headquartered Meteoric has been working to develop its Caldeira mine in Brazil. Lynas said it expected development of the project would cost more than $500 million and it will undertake further studies on potential processing opportunities.