The small Australian town of Parkes has been best known for hosting one of the world’s largest Elvis Presley festivals, but it is gaining global significance in the race to break China’s control of rare earths.
Mining billionaire Robert Friedland is co-chair and the biggest shareholder in Sunrise Energy Metals, which plans a scandium mine in Parkes, 350km west of Sydney, that would start production in 2028.
Sunrise raised $30mn last week to start pre-construction activities at the mine, one of the first projects to get off the ground in Australia after Washington and Canberra signed a deal in October to increase supplies of rare earths.