Northern Minerals has secured a $3.9 million refund from the ATO as part of the Federal Government’s research and development tax offset scheme for a suite of activities completed at its Browns Range pilot plant project in the Pilbara. The reimbursement follows ongoing trial beneficiation and hydrometallurgical work that is aiming to further the company’s expertise in the processing of its heavy rare earths.
The company is attempting to use the interim facility as a means of creating a beneficiation flow sheet that will ultimately be robust enough for it to construct a much larger, commercial-scale plant.
Northern is currently gearing up to complete a detailed feasibility study for the commercial plant and plans to use ore from the project’s largest deposit, Wolverine as a key supplier of material.
With its foot already on a 10.81 million tonne resource at the project going 0.76 per cent total rare earth oxides or “TREO” for 81,450 tonnes anticipation is building with plans on completing a definitive feasibility study, or “DFS”over Wolverine late next year.
The DFS is tipped to be completed in September next year and following its conclusion the company says it could churn out its first processed rare earth product a few years later in 2026.
However, there has already been plenty going on with Northern Minerals recently inking a deal with mining behemoth Iluka Resources to supply the company with rare earths concentrate sourced from its Browns Range project. As part of the corporate tie-up, Northern will distribute 30,500 tonnes of contained total rare earth oxides to Iluka in exchange for about $73 million.
Perth-based Northern plans to use the funds, along with $5 million from a non-underwritten share purchase plan of up to 125 million shares at 4c each to completes its DFS and establish commercial-scale production at Browns Range.
Northern’s facility could be a domestic game-changer in the processing of heavy rare earths given only five facilities are currently in operation globally – notably, all these are in China.
If the company’s work proves successful, its plant will not only be capable of treating heavy rare earths such as dysprosium and terbium at Brown Range, the company will have also broken the Chinese monopoly for the in-demand commodities.
Both dysprosium and terbium are used in the manufacturing of industrial magnets that are ultimately used in the engines of electric vehicle engines.
Northern Minerals completed a feasibility study at Browns Range in 2015 that suggested a commercial processing facility at the site would cost around $330 million to build and would rake in roughly $176 million a year in free cash flows over the operations 11 year-plus shelf life.
Since then, the company kept the drill bit spinning to eke out further resources which could ultimately extend the project's shelf life and boost its key numbers.
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By Matt Birney
