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Sunrise Energy Metals - World's First Primary Scandium Mine

Jimmy Connor Jul 17, 2026 25:43

Summary

Sunrise Energy Metals (ASX: SRL) is building the world's first primary scandium mine at Syerston in New South Wales, targeting first commercial production in mid-2028.

The build is capital-efficient at about US$120 million for a 60-tonne-per-year scandium oxide refinery, with a C1 cash cost of about US$530-540 per kilogram.

A 650 ppm scandium ore grade dwarfs the 10-20 ppm recovered from Chinese waste streams, giving Sunrise a structural cost edge as the dominant Western producer.

Scandium has become a chokepoint for 5G/6G filtering chips, solid oxide fuel cells, and defense alloys, with no workable substitute in many applications.

Construction is underway with long-lead orders placed; management is pursuing North American financing initiatives, including potential US government support.

Robert Friedland's takeaways

  • Top takeaway The guest identifies Robert Friedland as co-founder (with him, about 15 years ago) and current chairman of Sunrise Energy Metals, noting Friedland has been out educating the market on scandium's role in aerospace alloys, chip manufacturing, and AI-related fuel cell power.
  • Friedland's chairmanship is tied to the bull case that scandium has no substitutes in most applications and that China's export restrictions make a Western scandium source strategically essential - a view the guest credits with driving the stock from $1 to $15 over the past year.

Jimmy Connor's takeaways

  • Top takeaway As host, Jimmy Connor frames the interview around Sunrise Energy Metals' pitch as the world's first primary scandium mine, asking the guest to walk through scandium's end uses, the US-as-consumer/China-as-supplier imbalance (China ~85-90% of supply), and why the project is needed now.
  • Connor presses on the stock's move (from $1 to $15 in the past year) and on project economics: roughly $120M capex, 60 t/yr scandium oxide nameplate, a C1 cash cost of $530-$540/kg, first commercial production targeted for mid-2028, with US government funding and downstream metallization capacity as near-term news flow.