马来西亚稀土因中国出口管制临近受到外资关注，但缺少新的可交易增量

KUALA LUMPUR -- Malaysia's rare earth reserves are attracting increased interest from foreign investors as Japan and Western countries scramble to diversify supply from China before Beijing starts enforcing tough export restrictions on critical minerals this fall.
Last year, China agreed to suspend the enforcement of expanded critical minerals export controls for 12 months as part of a trade truce with the U.S. That suspension is set to expire in November.
"Possible renewed China export controls in November could be a factor in accelerating foreign investors' interest in Malaysia's rare earths," Lim Wei Chung, executive director and chief operating officer of Southern Alliance Mining, told Nikkei Asia.
Southern Alliance holds a 40% stake in MCRE Resources, the sole rare earth mining company in Malaysia, which exports all of its raw rare earths to China to be refined.
China controls around 90% of global rare earths refining and 94% of permanent magnet production. Rare earth materials are essential for high-tech manufacturing, including electric vehicles, semiconductors and missiles.
Malaysia has 16.1 million metric tons of rare earth deposits, according to government estimates, but lacks the technology to mine and process them itself.
Japan, hard hit by China's restrictions on critical minerals, has been actively investing in Malaysia's rare earth industry.
Noriyuki Shikata, Japan's ambassador to Malaysia, told Nikkei Asia that Japanese entities have "actively supported" rare earth operations in the country.
"Through strategic financing, including loans and equity investments involving Japanese institutional and private stakeholders such as JOGMEC [Japan Organization for Metals and Energy Security] and corporate partners like Sojitz, Japanese entities have actively supported rare earth separation and refining projects operating in Malaysia, notably facilities handling imported mineral concentrates," Shikata said.
He added that rare earths are indispensable raw materials for motor magnets, electronics, green technologies, and securing a stable supply is a "high priority for Japanese industries."
Japan has invested millions of dollars in Australian rare-earths producer Lynas, the world's largest producer of critical minerals outside of China. The company's refinery is located in Malaysia.
Sojitz and JOGMEC provided $250 million in financing in the form of a loan and equity stake in 2011 to Lynas when it first built its refinery.
Domestically, a major challenge facing Malaysia's rare earths industry is the fragmented regulatory landscape between federal and state governments, said Tricia Yeoh, visiting senior fellow in the Malaysia Studies Programme of the Singapore-based ISEAS-Yusof Ishak Institute.
While state governments have control over land, forests and exploration permits and licenses, the federal government controls import and export policy, regulation of labor and safety in mines, and management of waste and radioactivity, Yeoh said.
"The implementation of mining regulations and environmental compliance requires the co-operation of both state and federal governments," she said.
"Already we have seen examples where state governments are in conversation with foreign private companies without necessarily informing the federal government first, while the federal government is trying to develop its rare earths industry in a more holistic manner."
Yeoh said there needs to be a comprehensive policy platform that connects the federal government with state governments, as there is no formal mechanism currently to allow for discussions and negotiations over the range of technical and jurisdictional matters.
On top of that, a significant amount of rare earth deposits is found in permanent forest reserves in Malaysia.
Yeoh said "the actual feasibility of mining" in the forest reserves remains to be known, since opening up part of the forests would be necessary in order to conduct exploration, which in itself is of environmental concern. This also falls under state government jurisdiction.
Malaysians are also haunted by memories of rare earth mining incidents during the 1980s that had a "detrimental impact" on communities in Bukit Merah, Perak state, Yeoh said.
Several people from Bukit Merah died from cancer that local residents believe was linked to exposure to radioactive waste produced by a rare earth extracting company, Asia Rare Earth (ARE). Thousands staged protests and ARE later ceased operations. The site around Bukit Merah was subject to a $100 million clean-up operation.
"Policymakers will need to assure the public and environmental groups that the current technology being employed [in-situ leaching] is safe, sustainable and will not affect the quality of groundwater, vegetation and surrounding communities," Yeoh said.
Hayley Channer, director of the Economic Security Program at the United States Studies Centre, University of Sydney, told Nikkei Asia that Malaysia should focus on improving geological data and building government and public support.
"Through investing in better geological data, the Malaysian government stands to attract more interest from international mining companies," Channer said on the sidelines of the 39th Asia-Pacific Roundtable of the Institute of Strategic & International Studies (ISIS) Malaysia last month.
"Next is creating policy bi-partisanship on minerals to offer investors long-term policy certainty. This is particularly important given it can take a decade or more to open a new mine," she said.
In January 2024, Malaysia banned exports of unprocessed rare earths in an effort to develop the industry's downstream activities and investments in domestic processing.
With the increasing interest in the country's rare earths, the Malaysian government is now mulling lifting the country's ban on raw rare earth exports.
"The pressure is already there, from Malaysian states and investors," Deputy Minister of Natural Resources and Environmental Sustainability Syed Ibrahim Syed Noh was quoted as saying by Bloomberg in early August. "They are knocking at the doors already," he added, referring to interest from the U.S., Australia, France and India.
Southern Alliance's unit, MCRE, obtained a license for mining in 2022 before the ban.
Lim of Southern Alliance views the proposed policy as a "pragmatic recalibration" rather than an easing of export restrictions.
"If implemented appropriately, it can strengthen upstream development today while creating the conditions necessary for Malaysia to progressively develop its midstream capabilities tomorrow," he said.
Easing export restrictions could help address the "chicken-and-egg" challenge facing the industry, Lim added.
"Investors may be reluctant to invest in exploration and mine development if there is no commercially viable pathway to market, while investors in separation facilities require confidence that long-term feedstock will be available before committing significant capital."
According to Lim, the future of the rare earths industry will increasingly depend on horizontal collaboration, where different countries contribute according to their comparative advantages and work together to address capability gaps and supply chain constraints.
"Such collaboration can help establish a more resilient, balanced and sustainable horizontal supply chain."
Amy Chew is a contributing writer.