{
  "id": 17173658,
  "title": "US-majority-owned startup plans US$600mil rare-earth refinery in Malaysia",
  "url": "https://urgent.news/2026/10/30/us-majority-owned-startup-plans-us-600mil-rare-earth-refinery-in",
  "topic": "world",
  "section": "World",
  "published": "2026-10-30T03:57:54.000Z",
  "source": {
    "name": "Free Malaysia Today",
    "slug": "free-malaysia-today-freemalays",
    "url": "https://www.freemalaysiatoday.com/category/highlight/2026/10/30/us-majority-owned-startup-plans-us-600mil-rare-earth-refinery-in-malaysia"
  },
  "original_language": "en",
  "account": "A US-backed startup plans to invest US$600 million in a rare-earth refinery in Malaysia to diversify the region's sources of critical minerals, reducing reliance on China. DTEC Mineral and Metal Technology, the company behind the project, aims to establish the facility within three years, with a capacity to process 5,000 metric tonnes of rare-earth material annually, eventually expanding to two plants with a combined capacity of 10,000 tonnes a year. CEO Milan Perlly emphasizes Malaysia's potential to become a regional hub for processing ion-adsorption clay deposits, which contain valuable heavy rare earths. The US government aims for Malaysia to process 10,000 tonnes annually. The startup intends to develop its own mine and is exploring locations in Kedah, Terengganu, Perak, and Negeri Sembilan. Malaysia holds an estimated 16.1 million tonnes of rare-earth resources. DTEC Mineral, co-owned by Perlly and David Greer, plans to list on the Nasdaq or New York Stock Exchange. The project received approval to export up to 700 tonnes of raw material to the US for research purposes.",
  "summary": "DTEC Mineral and Metal Technology CEO Milan Perlly says the company aims to build two facilities with a combined annual capacity of 10,000 tonnes.",
  "key_points": [],
  "editors_take": null,
  "illustration": null,
  "coverage": {
    "outlets": 1,
    "also_reported_by": []
  },
  "ai_generated": true,
  "disclaimer": "Summaries, key points and the editor’s take are written by software from other outlets’ reporting and may contain errors — always check the linked original."
}