Gina Rinehart’s Hancock Prospecting goes on buying spree at Lynas Rare Earths

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Gina Rinehart’s Hancock Prospecting goes on buying spree at Lynas Rare Earths

Gina Rinehart has taken advantage of a slide in Lynas Rare Earths’ share price to up her stake in the critical minerals miner.

Australia’s richest person had already cemented her claim on just under 6 per cent of the Amanda Lacaze-led company but started amassing another tranche in early May when shares were hovering around $6.50, including one later purchase of 3218 shares at $7 each.

The on-market buying spree through Hancock Prospecting and its subsidiaries ramped up in June when the shares crumbled to as low as $5.96.

Mrs Rinehart now has a handle on 7.14 per cent of the register. At Thursday’s opening price of $6.06, her stake is now worth $404.6 million.

Her deeper foray into Lynas signals the iron ore and agribusiness magnate’s growing confidence in rare earths, which are used in a growing number of green and defence technologies.

Lynas is one of the biggest producers of the minerals outside of China.

The company on Tuesday reported it had managed to improve average selling prices through the final quarter of 2023/24.

Total rare earth oxide production came in at 2188 tonnes — less than half of the 4475t turned out in the prior corresponding ******* as it completed maintenance works at its processing hub in Malaysia. The upgrades aims to lift interim downstream processing capacity to 9000t a year, with an eventual target of 10,500tpa.

It also produced 1504t of neodymium and praseodymium — highly-sought after rare earths that are used in industrial magnets, electric vehicles and defence technology.

Mrs Rinehart is also a major backer of rare earths hopeful Arafura, which this week announced it would aim to raise about three times more than its current market value to build its massive Nolans project in the Northern Territory.

Arafura on Tuesday said it had locked in a $US775 million ($1.2 billion) debt package for the mine and a refinery via government and commercial lenders spread across Asia, Europe, North America and Australia. The latest package will be piled on top of an existing loan from the taxpayer-funded Export Finance Australia.

Arafura said it was now casting its sight towards an eyewatering equity raise of $US793m, nearly three times the size of its current market capitalisation of $427.4m.

Hancock Prospecting is Arafura biggest shareholder with a 10 per cent stake and will likely pour funds into the massive capital injection.

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