Gina Rinehart augments her rare earths portfolio with additional investment in Lynas

Lynas has a processing facility in Kalgoorlie, Western Australia that processes rare earth concentrate from its Mt Weld mine. Photo credit: Lynas Rare Earths

Rare Earths

Gina Rinehart augments rare earths portfolio with major investment in Australia’s Lynas

Australia’s wealthiest woman bought 6.6 million more shares valued at over C$35 million

Rowan Dunne

Published

April 17, 2024

Australian mining magnate Gina Rinehart, the nation’s richest woman, made another major investment in rare earths last week.

Through her private company Hancock Prospecting, she added 6.6 million shares of Lynas Rare Earths Ltd (ASX: LYC) to her portfolio. Rinehart now has a 5.8 per cent stake in Lynas, approximately.

She invested considerable sums of money into the rare earths producer on eight occasions since the end of last year, but this ninth C$35.7 million buy was larger than all the others combined.

Lynas is the largest producer of rare earths outside of China. Its products include neodymium and praseodymium for magnets, mixed heavy rare earths, lanthanum and cerium.

Rinehart recently took a 5.3 per cent stake in the American rare earths company MP Materials (NYSE: MP). She also holds a 6.1 per cent share of Brazillian Rare Earths Ltd (ASX: BRE) and a 9.1 per cent stake in Arafura Rare Earths Ltd (ASX: ARU).

Arafura just got an US$840 million package of loans and grants from the Australian government to increase domestic rare earths production. This increased the value of Rinehart’s stake in the company by about US$20 million.

Lynas and MP, the second-largest producer outside China, discussed a potential merger in February.

Rinehart snares big stake in Lynas Rare Earths
Source: afr #rareearths @ASXLindian $LIN $LIN.ax pic.twitter.com/X2yzGPdT6w

— Asimwe Kabunga (@asimwe) April 16, 2024

Azure approves Hancock-SQM takeover

Rinehart’s company and Sociedad Química y Minera de Chile’s (SQM) (NYSE: SQM) acquisition of Azure Minerals Limited (ASX: AZS) is expected to close next month. Shareholder approval was received from Azure last week.

Gina Rinehart has a net worth of about US$30 billion. She made her fortune primarily from iron ore. Australia’s Financial Review named Rinehart Business Person of the Year at the end of 2023.

“In the rare earths Game of Thrones, Gina Rinehart grabs the crown,” read a headline in the Brisbane Times Wednesday.

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