Australia-based Lynas Rare Earths is reporting a record full-year as global demand for rare earth elements continues to grow, Kallanish reports.

The company reported a net profit of AUD 157.1 million ($113.7m) for the year ending 30 June, 2021, compared to a net loss of AUD 19.4m a year earlier.

“Pleasingly, the rare earth market rebound despite the ongoing pandemic reinforces the importance of this critical material globally,” says ceo and managing director Amanda Lacaze in a statement. Her company is the world’s biggest rare earth miner outside of China.

The company’s full-year revenue jumped to AUD 489.0m from AUD 305.1m a year ago. The company did not declare a dividend.

The company has a number of projects underway at Mt. Weld and Kalgoorlie in Western Australia to expand rare earth production by 2025. It is also working with the US federal government to develop a RE separations facility in the United States.

The company also reported that Malaysian regulators have extended the deadline for the company to begin construction of permanent disposal facility for low-level radioactive waste to 2 March 2022. The extension recognises the constraints imposed by the Covid-19 pandemic, the company says. To date, about 580,000 tonnes are stored at the Kuantan facility.

The company mines the RE materials in Western Australia and ships them to Malaysia for processing because costs are lower. The radiation is a by-product of the cracking and leaching enrichment process. The risks are low, according to the company and scientific reviews.

Last July, activists opposed to the Malaysia operation failed in a legal fight seeking to block renewal of the company’s August 2019 operating license. The plant is operating under a licence granted in February 2020.