News Articles for Northern Minerals

It seems that the mining gods have caucused and the result is that Northern Minerals shall be rewarded for their bold decision to build Australia's first heavy rare earths mine. In an exquisite piece of timing, a Chinese government crackdown on illegal mining has sent prices soaring for Dysprosium - the key rare earths product to be churned out from the soon to be built Browns range mine near Halls Creek.

A $4.8 million grant from the Building Better Regions Fund will help Northern Minerals and the Wunan Foundation create new work opportunities for Aborigines at Browns Range in the East Kimberley. The heavy rare earths developer says the new training-to-work program is essential for the company to meet its target of 20% indigenous employment.

Northern Minerals has received backing from the federal government for an $8.1 million Aboriginal training-to-work program at its Browns Range project in the Kimberley.

Local contractor Primero Group is set to win its third major contract on a mining project this year while RCR Tomlinson has geared up to supply Rio Tinto's new iron ore mine.

Northern Minerals' contract mining team have hit the ground running at the remote Browns Range project with MACA contracting now set to begin digging ore at Australia's first heavy rare earths mine. The commencement of mining will coincide with a reassessment of the commercial potential of heavy rare earths, driven in part by the take up of electric vehicles around the globe.

One of Wall Street's oldest investment banks has released a bullish assessment of Perth based Northern Minerals, saying Browns Range is among a rare breed of high-value rare earths projects. Hallgarten & Company concluded that Northern Minerals had a project with great metallurgy and set a 12-month price target of 38 cents, a 217% increase over the current levels.

Northern Minerals have wasted no time at the Browns Range heavy rare earths project, with grade control drilling and an expansion of the mining camp now underway. The company last month approved the $56 million pilot project, which will focus on the production of “Dysprosium”, a high-value rare earth that is a key component of permanent magnets used in electric motors.

The Browns Range heavy rare earths project is moving ahead quickly following last month's Final Investment Decision, with developer Northern Minerals striking a $10m mining agreement with MACA. The deal comes under Northern's innovative lead contractor agreement with Sinosteel MECC, which allows deferred payment for 20% of all works.

SPECIAL REPORT: A pilot plant for WA's second rare earth metals mine is helping broaden the state's resources horizons.

MACA has won a $6 million contract to provide mining services to Northern Minerals' Browns Range heavy rare earths pilot project, while an additional $4 million bulk earthworks contract is also due to be awarded to the Perth-based company.

Northern Minerals will build Australia's first heavy rare earths mine at Browns Range in WA after board approval this week for the $56 million development. The mine will be a pilot project operating at about 10% of the scale of a proposed full scale development and will focus on production of “Dysprosium”, a key component of permanent magnets used in large electric motors.

Northern Minerals plans to spend $56 million developing a pilot plant for its Browns Range heavy rare earths project in Halls Creek, with first production expected next year.

Northern Minerals look set to get Australia's first heavy rare earths mine across the line after securing an offtake agreement for all production in the first three years. The sales agreement, with a subsidiary of one of China's big rare earths companies, includes a $10 million pre-payment and has dramatically boosted the prospects of a development decision.

Northern Minerals will raise another $10m for their Browns Range heavy rare earths pilot project in a fully underwritten equity placement. It is the second time the George Bauk-led company has raised funds at above-market levels, highlighting the strong level of investor interest in Australia's first heavy rare earths project.

Australia could soon have its first heavy rare earths mine after Northern Minerals said they were rapidly approaching a final investment decision at the Browns Range project in northern WA. The Perth-based company took some big strides with the project in the past quarter, including the appointment of Sinosteel MECC as EPC contractor.

Northern Minerals have taken another step towards building Australia's first heavy rare earths mine after they banked another $5.5m in equity funding from China's Huatai Mining. The latest payment reaffirms the Chinese company's commitment to Northern Minerals' proposed Browns Range heavy rare earths pilot plant near Halls Creek in W.A.

The clean energy boom has opened up opportunities for Aussie Lithium and Graphite explorers. Now you can add the heavy rare earth “Dysprosium” to that list. Northern Minerals is quickly carving out a dominant position in that market place and this week finalized a $60m engineering contract with Chinese giant Sinosteel MECC that will allow $12m to be deferred.

Approvals to build Australia's first heavy rare earths plant are falling like dominoes for Northern Minerals with the Department of Mines and Petroleum giving the green light for the company to develop their Browns Range rare earths project near Halls Creek. Whilst it will be a research and development play initially, there is every chance it will still make money for the company.

All the pieces are falling into place for Northern Minerals' heavy rare earth project at Browns Range, with infill drilling underway before a final investment decision due in Q1 2017. It follows a sensational few months for the company that have included funding and construction deals to take Browns Range from an ambitious idea to potentially Australia's first heavy rare earths mine.

Chinese engineering firm Sinosteel MECC have agreed to defer $12m of the $60m needed to build Northern Minerals rare earths pilot plant until after the mine starts producing. Taking the money from future cashflow rather than borrowing it, dramatically changes the deal metrics and sets the company up to be Australia's first heavy rare earths producer in 2017.

In the public company world it's often said that it's easier to get a promise of a cheque from the Chinese than the actual cheque itself, which sometimes never arrives. No such problem however for the George Bauk led Northern Minerals who now look set to create the first significant heavy rare earths mine outside of China after their Chinese shareholder showed them the colour of their money.

The Browns Range heavy rare earths project got a shot in the arm this week courtesy of a $1.76m federal Government R&D cheque with a $9m cheque from Chinese investors just days away. Investors are also starting to give the company credit for its trailblazing resources play, with the share price nearly tripling in recent months.

The FIRB has cleared a $30m Chinese investment in Northern Minerals, clearing the way for the rapid development of the company's heavy rare earths project at Browns Range in WA. Northern Minerals have already banked $3m and will bank another $9m from Huatai Mining next week with two more $9m payments to follow.

Northern Minerals has won a key approval from the W.A state Government for the development of Australia's first heavy rare earths mine at Browns Range in the far north. The DMP cleared the project management plan for a Dysprosium pilot plant after Chinese interests recently committed $30 million in equity funding for Northern Minerals to help progress the project.

When it rains it pours or so it seems for Rare Earths player Northern Minerals who banked $2.8m from Chinese interests a few weeks ago with another $27m to come. This week the George Bauk led company banked another $1.25m from the sale of their Northern Territory gold leases to Northern Star Resources with another $1.5m potentially still to come.

Rare earths hopeful Northern Minerals has attracted another Chinese investment group for a $30 million equity injection into its Browns Range project.

Local explorer Northern Minerals plans to build a test pilot plant at its Browns Range project near Halls Creek at a cost of about $US18 million ($A25 million), rather than proceeding with full-scale development in light of the depressed rare earths market.

Northern Minerals is cutting salaries and reducing its head count to reduce costs as it seeks to complete the next stage of funding for its Browns Range rare earth project near Halls Creek.

Perth companies Valmec and Northern Minerals have struck agreements to raise up to a combined $8.2 million through the issue of convertible securities.

SPECIAL REPORT: The potential for mass production of electric cars is among a number of high-technology trends sparking interest in Western Australia's lithium sector, with a series of companies touting projects to meet a forecast surge in demand.

Northern Minerals managing director George Bauk has been named the new chair of lithium miner Cobre Montana.

Northern Minerals has attracted a Chinese-based funding partner to provide up to $49.5 million for its flagship Browns Range heavy rare earths project near Halls Creek.

Northern Minerals has appointed Dublin-headquartered management consulting firm Accenture to plan and budget a feasibility study at its flagship Browns Range rare earths project near Halls Creek.

Western Australian Environment Minister Albert Jacob has granted Northern Minerals approval of its proposed Browns Range rare earths project near Halls Creek.

The Environmental Protection Authority has given conditional approval to Northern Minerals for its Browns Range project, located 160 kilometres south-east of Halls Creek.

Northern Minerals has secured $6 million in bank finance to fund the completion of a feasibility study for its Browns Range heavy rare earths project on the Western Australia-Northern Territory bor

Michael Fotios, who made a fortune backing gold miner Northern Star Resources, is heading back to the stockmarket to tap into what he calls “a marked increase in investor interest over the last 3 months”.

Rare earths explorer Northern Minerals struck a 50 per cent offtake agreement with Japanese trading giant Sumitomo Corporation last December – but it was nine months before the deal was announced. The timeframe is indicative of the measured approach taken by the Japanese, according to Northern Minerals managing director George Bauk.

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