“There was a false sense of security in the rare earth supply situation, which has now created a sudden awakening,” says Nicholas Curtis, CEO of Australia’s Lynas Corp., as markets outside China face impending shortages of these raw materials.But Lynas, which owns the Mount Weld rare earth project in Western Australia due to come on stream next year, is possibly in the best place to capitalise on the situation.The group expects to produce 11,000 tpa of rare earth oxides - via its processing plant in Malaysia - by Q3 2011, becoming the first significant new project on the market since China began its dominance of the industry decades ago. Lynas has already secured offtake agreements for over 90% of the material, Curtis told IM. Lynas’ project has been in the pipeline for ten years and has been fraught with challenges, not least depressed prices for the various rare earth oxides,...