Brought to you by COW AND BEAR
Doug Bright
Hastings Technology Metals has breathed new life into the rare earth story at its Yangibana project in Western Australia’s Gascoyne region, launching an updated feasibility study (DFS) that points to a bright, risk-free route to the first stage of production.
The company says the study confirms a pre-tax present value of $649 million, an outstanding domestic rate of 34 percent for a payback of just 2.4 years from first production. The first stage of the project has been set at 333.4 million dollars, with Hastings’ 40 percent share of the Yangibana joint venture costing 133 million dollars.
Based on a nameplate plant capacity of 1.2 million tonnes per year, the mine life of 19 years is fully supported by an ore reserve of 20.93 million tonnes grading 0.90% total rare earth oxides (TREO), with no material included in the mine schedule.
Yangibana’s main attraction remains its high-value neodymium-praseodymium (NdPr) content, which represents 37 percent of TREO in the reserve and is forecast to generate more than 90 percent of the project’s revenue.
‘Yangibana’s updated DFS reinforces its status as a rare earth project with no capital and a short path to production.’
Wyloo Gascoyne CEO Luca Giacovazzi
The first stage will involve conventional open pit mining and flotation of all ore to produce rare earths, with the peak annual concentration forecast to be 37,000 tonnes at a 27% TREO grade, for an average life of mine production of 31,570 tonnes per year.
In particular, Hastings says much of the heavy lifting has already been done. More than 160 million dollars of infrastructure and long-term facilities are already in place, including a 294-room accommodation village, an 1800-meter airstrip, access roads, communication towers and water wells.
The project is also fully permitted for rapid development, and the first serious production is estimated to begin two years after the award of the engineering, procurement and construction contract, subject to the final decision on investment and financing.
Yangibana is held through a joint venture between Wyloo Gascoyne, which manages the project and owns 60 percent, and Hastings, which holds the remaining 40 percent. Wyloo has begun the process of selling its interest after reporting strong interest from local and international parties.
Hastings Technology Metals chief executive officer Vince Catania said: “This updated DFS confirms that (Yangibana) is one of the highest grade NdPr rare earth reserves in the world. Much of the heavy lifting has already been done: the village, airport, access roads and well sites are ready, our Ore Reserve is fully supported by Probability-proven classification, and our mining and processing concepts have been updated to the current state.”
DFS lands as Hastings builds comprehensive mine-to-market rare earths strategy. In March, the company acquired a 49 percent interest in a permitted hydrometallurgical mixed rare earth chloride (MREC) plant in Thailand, which it says offers a near-term processing and cash flow, independent of Yangibana.
Last month, Malaysian miner Malaco Mining also agreed to take a $1 million strategic placement in Hastings to support its rare earth push across Australia and Thailand.
With Western demand for the supply of non-Chinese magnetic rare earths in electric vehicles, wind turbines, robotics and the construction of defense systems, time is of the essence.
Together, Hastings now has a more complex and transparent development plan, an advanced NdPr tool, almost all of the major infrastructure in place and a second layer of processing in Thailand – the many ingredients it needs to turn its long story of rare earth development into one of near production.
Is your ASX listed company doing something interesting? Address: mattbirney@bullsnbears.com.au
