Anticipation is growing for Lynas Corporation (ASX: LYC, OTC: LYSDY), with the first feed of ore into the Mount Weld Concentration Plant in Western Australia scheduled for the week commencing 31 March 2011, weather permitting.
Lynas said the commissioning of the plant is "progressing well", despite the heavy rain last month associated with Cyclone Carlos and Cyclone Diana.
What is most important with this first feed, is it effectively sets off a chain of events for Lynas to deliver rare earth products to the market.
At Gebeng in Malaysia, the first feed of concentrate into the kiln at the Lynas Advanced Materials Plant (LAMP) remains on schedule for the third quarter of 2011.
Highlighting the effectiveness of the Lynas operations, both the plant in Western Australia and the LAMP in Malaysia remain within the overall budget.
Lynas has also provided an update on its estimated cash cost of production, assuming a Phase 2 steady state of operations, at A$10 per kilo of rare earths oxide.
In other Lynas news, Eric Noyrez has been appointed as the president and chief operating officer for the company.
Noyrez will lead the operational implementation of the Lynas rare earths project.