Tag Archives: Rare earths

ASM engages Bechtel for FEED services at Dubbo rare earths project

Australian Strategic Materials Limited subsidiary, Australian Strategic Materials (Holdings) Pty Ltd (ASMH), has appointed global engineering company Bechtel Mining and Metals, Inc to conduct Front-End Engineering Design (FEED) services for ASM’s rare earths and critical minerals Dubbo project in New South Wales, Australia.

The Toongi Deposit, part of the Dubbo project, is a polymetallic resource. It contains light and heavy rare earths, zirconium, niobium and hafnium. Reserves support an initial project life of 20 years, with potential for a significantly longer mine life, the company says.

The contract will see Bechtel progress design of both the process plant and non-process infrastructure (NPI) facilities at the Dubbo project to support the company commencing the execution phase.

Key areas of the work involved in the Bechtel contract scope include:

  • Progressing the engineering in readiness for commencement of the execution phase, and to support the procurement of long lead items and site preparation works;
  • Finalise the Dubbo project strategies, execution plans, baseline scope and standards to drive the procurement process for engagement of the execution contractors and to support ‘readiness’ for execution;
  • Identify early works opportunities for program reduction and or reduction of implementation risk.

In parallel, ASMH will complete work required to meet the project environmental impact statement and development consent commitments required during the FEED services period.

At completion of the FEED services, Bechtel will deliver to ASMH documentation that will support (along with other inputs and work to be undertaken) ASMH finalising a feasibility study on the construction and operation of the project. The feasibility study will include an updated capital cost estimate, operating cost estimate and project schedule. This will allow ASM to progress key funding activities and provides a critical path to taking final investment decision (FID) on the Dubbo project.

Rowena Smith, Managing Director and CEO of ASM, said: “We are delighted to announce this contract with Bechtel, one of the world’s leading engineering and
construction companies with extensive experience in the mining and metals sector. The Bechtel team bring deep understanding of the Dubbo project through their prior work on the NPI services contract and have established a proven ability to deliver and work collaboratively in their performance to date on this work. The
FEED services will progress our engineering work and provide critical inputs to enable us to take final investment decision and commence execution of the Dubbo project.”

Bechtel’s services under the contract will be provided on a rates basis for work completed and is estimated to be about A$55 million ($36 million). Bechtel’s commencement of the work is conditional upon ASMH confirming it has received funding for the work, all necessary approvals to proceed with the work and ASMH issuing Bechtel with a notice to proceed.

It is anticipated that ASMH will be in a position to commence the FEED services in September 2024. The estimated schedule for the FEED services is 18 months and is anticipated to be completed in the March quarter of 2026. It is therefore expected that ASM will be in a position to take FID on the Dubbo project
in the first half of 2026. Based on the estimated project duration in the Dubbo Project Optimisation Study, with project execution anticipated to take 27 months, production would commence in 2028.

Ailie MacAdam, President, Bechtel Mining and Metals, said: “The Dubbo project is a globally strategic project in the rare earths and critical mineral sector. We are delighted to be working with ASM in close partnership to progress the project and position it for success. Part of our collaborative approach has been to support ASM in identifying US government funding that has been allocated to develop critical minerals supply chains.”

Lynas Rare Earths to switch to continuous mining mode at Mt Weld with help of Carey Group

Lynas Rare Earths Ltd has awarded Western Australia-based company Carey Group Holdings a five-year contract for mining services at Lynas’ Mt Weld rare earths mine near Laverton.

The contract will draw on Carey’s nearly 30 years of experience as an open-pit mining contractor and leading 100% First Nations-owned business, including as a service provider to neighbouring mines near Laverton.

Carey will commence on site at the high-grade Mt Weld mine in April 2024. On commencement of the contract, Lynas will transition from campaign mining to continuous mining over the five-year period to supply ores to the expanded Mt Weld process plant.

Under the contract, Carey will mobilise a mining fleet comprising production drilling, excavation, hauling and auxiliary equipment. Carey will provide new haul trucks as part of the contract, with a focus on technologies designed to improve efficiency, productivity and precision for extracting ores, Lynas says.

A signing ceremony for the contract with Carey was held in Perth today and Amanda Lacaze, CEO & Managing Director, Lynas Rare Earths (pictured on the left), said: “Lynas is delighted to award the Mt Weld mining contract to Carey. Carey has almost 30 years of experience working with open-pit mine environments and is a leading contractor in its field. Significantly for Lynas, Carey’s founder and Managing Director, Daniel Tucker AM, grew up in the Laverton area. Daniel and his team have a strong connection to country and this is evident in their approach to sustainability and to providing opportunities for First Nations people to build and develop skills and expertise.

“We share Carey’s values and commitment to providing career opportunities and skills development for First Nations people. We look forward to working with Carey as we continue to enhance our operations, safety and sustainability through this contract.”

Tucker (pictured on the right) said: “We are immensely pleased for the opportunity to work with a global leader such as Lynas, and grateful to receive this contract award which continues to build on our history of the delivery of contract mining services in the Goldfields.

“As a leader of First Nations business in Australia, this long-term contract will allow us to deliver value for Lynas, Carey, other First Nations businesses and local supply chain partners. I look forward to a successful
partnership with Lynas.”

Anglo American and Finnish Minerals Group look to progress Finland’s battery strategy

Anglo American and Finnish Minerals Group have signed a memorandum of understanding (MoU) to work together to explore opportunities to, they say, further support Finland’s battery strategy.

Finnish Minerals Group is a holding and development company that manages the Finnish Government’s mining industry shareholdings and supports the development of the Finnish battery value chain. Among other assets, it holds the Terrafame nickel heap leach mine.

Alison Atkinson, Projects & Development Director at Anglo American, said: “Finland is a highly attractive investment destination and has a strong heritage in both mining and innovation. We look forward to working with Finnish Minerals Group, whose mission is to responsibly maximise the value of Finnish minerals, to explore the wealth of opportunities that our agreement could offer.

“This agreement further strengthens our commitment to Finland as well as to our Sakatti project, a true polymetallic orebody very much aligned to Finland’s and the EU’s critical minerals priorities. Sakatti is designed as the next generation of FutureSmart Mining™, building on what we have learned in terms of minimal surface footprint and using technology and innovation to deliver ever better environmental and social outcomes, whilst producing essential raw materials needed to transition to a greener, low carbon energy future.”

Atkinson said last year during a sustainability performance update that Sakatti was set to be “a remotely operated, low carbon-underground mine with an electric mining fleet using technology and mining methods that will create zero waste and enable high degrees of water recycling, contributing to a sustainable supply of critical minerals”. The company also sees the potential to use sorting technologies for coarse particle rejection and material recovery opportunities at the project.

Jani Kiuru, Senior Vice President, Raw Materials at Finnish Minerals Group, said: “Exploring joint opportunities with Anglo American is a natural choice for us as they already know the Finnish operational environment. In addition, the company has a long history in mining and is a forerunner in sustainability. We believe this collaboration reinforces both parties by combining local and global knowhow in sustainability and technological development, thus maximising the value of Finnish minerals responsibly. We see there is a mutual understanding on the vast possibilities and importance of Finnish minerals for the green transition.”

As a Finnish state-owned company with a mandate to foster the Finnish mining and battery industry, Finnish Minerals Group is a natural potential partner for Anglo American in Finland, Anglo American says. The company’s main assets are: Terrafame, a subsidiary that produces nickel and cobalt sulphates; project Sokli, a phosphate and rare earths deposit; and a 20% interest in Keliber, a battery-grade lithium project aiming to start production in 2025. Additionally, Finnish Minerals Group is advancing several greenfield investments further downstream in the battery value chain.

GR Engineering cements Yangibana rare earth project EPC contract

GR Engineering Services has been awarded an engineering, procurement and construction (EPC) contract with Yangibana Pty Ltd, a wholly owned subsidiary of Hastings Technology Metals Limited, for a beneficiation plant and associated infrastructure for the Yangibana rare earths project in Western Australia.

As previously announced on May 3, 2023, GR Engineering had entered into a binding term sheet with Yangibana Pty Ltd for these works.

The contract sum, including the provisional sum, is A$210 million ($138 million) as previously disclosed. This is made up of a fixed price component of A$180 million for the beneficiation plant and a provisional component of A$30 million mainly for the plant and tailings storage facility earthwork.

GR Engineering has commenced early works up to an agreed capped amount. The EPC contract is conditional on GR Engineering being issued with a commencement notice, which is dependent on Hastings finalising funding for the project as well as a number of other pre-conditions standard for an EPC contract.

Construction is planned to be complete in the March quarter of 2025 with first concentrate on truck in the June quarter of 2025

Under the A$210 million contract, GRES will design and construct the Yangibana beneficiation plant and all associated infrastructure, including engineering, manufacture, supply, installation, dry and wet commissioning, and testing of the facility over a period of less than 18 months. When completed, the plant will have a feed capacity of 1. 1 Mt/y and a rare earth concentrate output capacity of 37,000 t/y, Hastings says.

Orexplore furthers critical mineral core scanning push with Green Critical Minerals, Northern Minerals agreements

Mineral scanning technology company, Orexplore Technologies Limited, has made inroads into the critical minerals industry after signing two scanning agreements with companies from that sector and progressing an R&D project in collaboration with Uppsala University.

Green Critical Minerals has extended its engagement for a further 2,500 m of core scanning, in addition to 300 m already scanned in 2023 via Orexplore’s laboratory service. This order brings the total value of the engagement to approximately A$226,000 ($149,589) and encompasses scanning of graphite-bearing drill core and the delivery of ore-sorting evaluation, grade proxy modelling and emerging graphitic flake analysis solutions using the dataset captured by the company’s GeoCore X10® hardware, Orexplore says.

Green Critical Minerals is developing the McIntosh graphite project in Western Australia, which, it says, currently has the third largest graphite resource in Australia with 1.1 Mt of contained graphite.

Northern Minerals, meanwhile, has extended its engagement for an additional 900 m of core scanning, following the 420 m already scanned to date. This order brings the total value of the engagement to approximately A$130,000 and encompasses scanning of rare earth-bearing drill core and crushed samples. The project focuses on delivering two Orexplore solutions – ore-sorting evaluation and a proof of concept for operational grade control, the company said.

Northern Minerals is developing the Browns Range heavy rare earth project in Western Australia, which is currently the subject of a definitive feasibility study.

On top of these two agreements, Orexplore said its research and development on critical minerals accelerates with a project it is carrying out in collaboration with Uppsala University in Sweden having recently progressed to scanning samples from Talga Group Limited’s (ASX: TLG) Swedish resources. It has also received a development grant of A$77,000 for advancing a project on lithium scanning technologies with a Swedish lithium producer, which is supported by Sweden’s Vinnova innovation agency.

Metso and Torngat Metals partner on rare earth processing pilot

Torngat Metals Ltd and Metso have signed a contract for large-volume pilot scale processing of ore, with the focus of the agreement being to pilot test the beneficiation of ore extracted from Torngat’s Strange Lake rare earth project in Québec, Canada.

This project is a critical driver for the electrification value chain, specifically the manufacturing of permanent magnets for electric motors, wind turbines and other low carbon technologies, Metso said.

The process incorporates advanced technologies including X-ray sensor-based ore sorting, magnetic separation and flotation, based on Metso’s proprietary and leading-edge technology. This work is being executed in close collaboration with GTK Mintec (Geological Survey of Finland), the company added.

“We are very pleased to expand this partnership with Metso, not only because of its world leading mineral processing expertise and capabilities, but also because of the values we share in our commitment to enabling sustainability and decarbonisation in our operations and in our communities,” Dirk Naumann, President and CEO of Torngat, said.

The first phase of work will be completed by the end of 2023, resulting in the production of a rare earth concentrate. The next phase of work will use the rare earth concentrate to scale-up and optimise the subsequent process steps to produce a mixed rare earth solution, based on Metso’s expertise in acid- and heat-based minerals processing and purification, it said. Metso will also provide production-scale engineering and offer technology and equipment solutions for future commercial operations with Torngat.

Torngat is a private company developing the Strange Lake project in the Nunavik region of Québec to provide a long-term responsible supply of rare earths required for technologies including electric vehicles and wind turbines.

GR Engineering books A$210 million EPC beneficiation plant order for Yangibana rare earths project

GR Engineering Services says it has entered into a binding term sheet with Yangibana Pty Ltd, a wholly-owned subsidiary of Hastings Technology Metals Limited, for the engineering, procurement and construction (EPC) of the beneficiation plant and associated infrastructure for the Yangibana rare earths project in Western Australia.

The project is approximately 250 km north east of Carnarvon.

Hastings said the plant will have a feed capacity of 1 Mt/y and a rare earth concentrate output capacity of 35,000 t/y of rare earth mineral concentrate at a grade of 27% total rare earth oxides.

GR Engineering and Hastings have agreed the material terms of the EPC contract in the binding term sheet. The EPC contract for the works will be finalised shortly and GR Engineering will commence early works. If the EPC contract is entered into, it is expected that the contract sum, including provisional sum, will be A$210 million ($140 million).

Tony Patrizi, Managing Director of GR Engineering, said: “GR Engineering is pleased to have received the binding term sheet for this world-class rare earths project in the Gascoyne region of Western Australia. It will be exciting to work on this project as it is focused on globally critical minerals that are used as key components for electric vehicles and wind turbines.”

Arafura Rare Earths appoints Worley-owned Chemetics for Nolans sulphuric acid plant

Arafura Rare Earths says it has entered into an agreement for the supply of the sulphuric acid plant for its 100%-owned Nolans neodymium-praseodymium (NdPr) project in the Northern Territory of Australia.

The sulphuric acid plant will be supplied by Chemetics® Inc, a global supplier of sulphuric acid and other specialty chemical facilities, and a wholly-owned subsidiary of Worley.

The sulphuric acid plant for Nolans will utilise Chemetics proprietary CORE-SO2 process which significantly reduces capital cost, maintenance cost and sulphur dioxide emissions from the plant. The Chemetics plant is also significantly smaller than a traditional sulphur burning acid plant allowing increased use of modularisation reducing the volume of site installation labour. These savings were incorporated into the recent Nolans project update.

The initial work package includes finalisation of specifications and engineering design to allow the plant to be incorporated into the overall project design.

Arafura’s General Manager Projects, Stewart Watkins, said: “Letting the contract for the supply of the acid plant to a global supplier such as Chemetics provides confidence around the outcomes for the project when the team reaches commissioning. Along with that, the progress made on the selection of our key vendors and placement of long lead orders means that we are set to commence early works construction in the coming weeks.”

As well as the sulphuric acid plant, the company has also placed several other the orders during recent weeks which are on the critical path for the project, including:

  • Sulphation bake and cooler paddle dryers with ANDRITZ, primarily to secure detailed design and long lead materials for fabrication;
  • Pipe supply for the first 8 km of HDPE piping for the main water supply pipeline from the borefield to the plant site, which is required for early construction works;
  • Potable and wastewater treatment plants for the construction camp; and
  • Equipment and tankage for temporary construction water supply in advance of the pipeline being installed to site.

NRW Holdings companies win work from Wonbindi Coal, Lynas Rare Earths, Rio Tinto

NRW Holdings Limited companies Golding Contractors and DIAB Engineering have banked some significant contracts in the mining space, the biggest of which is a Mining Service Agreement with Wonbindi Coal Pty Ltd at the Baralaba North Mine in Queensland.

The Baralaba North award is valued at around A$800 million ($546 million) and continues the strong relationship between Golding and Wonbindi where Golding has provided the contract mining services at the Baralaba North Mine over the last four years.

The scope of work remains the same and includes maintaining and operating a client-owned fleet of equipment, producing an ultra-low volatile pulverised coal injection product. The pact commenced on July 1 and follows on from a Binding Letter of Intent the two companies signed earlier in the year.

DIAB Engineering, meanwhile, has been awarded two contracts with a value of circa-A$78 million.

At the Lynas Rare Earths Processing Facility in Kalgoorlie, Western Australia, DIAB has been awarded a contract for a key component of the facility, being the construction of the Filter Building used to process and further concentrate the rare earth. The works to be performed include the supply, fabrication and erection of the Filter Building, the installation of associated equipment and piping, and electrical and instrumentation installation.

DIAB will carry out all the circa-1,500 tonne fabrication works for the Filter Building at its facilities in Geraldton using around 80 local Midwest team members. A construction workforce of 60-80 will then be mobilised to site progressively over the coming months.

Lynas Kalgoorlie Pty Ltd, a wholly owned subsidiary of Lynas Rare Earths, is the only scale producer of separated rare earths outside of China. It mines and processes rare earth ore at Mt Weld, in the north-eastern Goldfields region of Western Australia. Lynas’ new processing facility in Kalgoorlie will treat rare earth concentrate from Mt Weld to produce a rare earth carbonate.

At Rio Tinto Iron Ore’s Tom Price mine in Western Australia, DIAB Engineering, has secured the supply, fabrication and installation of multiple dust suppression systems to be utilised on the Tom Price and Western Turner crusher and conveyor systems. These systems will assist in improved control and suppression of dust generated from processing activities, reducing the impacts on personnel and plant operations, it says. The project will run for approximately 12 months, employing 60 people at its peak.

Appian continues to flex ‘multi-faceted’ skillset in latest mining deals

Private equity firms might not be the most obvious port of call for companies in need of the technical skillsets to transition ‘projects’ to ‘mines’, but, in recent years, Appian Capital Advisory LLP has shown the industry that it has all the credentials to help with this transition.

The firm, headquartered in London but calling on expertise from across the globe, has just completed divestments of the Santa Rita nickel mine and the Serrote copper mine, both in Brazil.

Sibanye-Stillwater, the purchaser, agreed to pay Appian $1 billion, plus a 5% net smelter return (NSR) royalty over potential future underground production at Santa Rita, for the assets, with the private equity firm, in the process, pocketing a pretty profit.

In 2018, Appian acquired Atlantic Nickel (owner of Santa Rita) out of bankruptcy for $68 million and Mineração Vale Verde, the owner of Serrote, for $40 million.

It reoriented the former large-scale open-pit mine into a much more conservative – and profitable – mine able to produce around 20,000-25,000 t/y of contained nickel sulphide equivalent. It also carried out extensive drilling to showcase its underground potential, prolonging its mine life.

The plans at Serrote, meanwhile, were re-evaluated in a DFS. Having completed project construction and commissioning ahead of schedule and under budget, the mine is now ramping up to nameplate capacity of 20,000 t/y of copper equivalent.

These two divestments represent the fourth and fifth portfolio sales the company completed this year. The others included the sale of its 13.2% interest in West Africa-focused gold company Roxgold to Fortuna Silver Mines, the sale of its 0.28% NSR royalty over the large-scale Caserones copper mine in Chile and the repayment of a royalty Appian held over Peak Resources’ Ngualla rare earth project in Tanzania.

The diversity of these asset exits is indicative of how well-versed mining-focused Appian is in the sector’s ‘hot commodities’, but there is more to appreciate here than purely financial gains and well-timed acquisitions and divestments.

“People know that not all money is created equal,” Michael W Scherb, Founder and CEO of Appian (pictured), told IM. “We have a team that is able to solve specific operational challenges – we can call on specialists to solve problems on the process flowsheet side, for instance – while providing financial advice to avoid expensive streams and set assets up for profitability.”

Scherb’s words are backed up by a solid track record: seven of nine investments it has made have resulted in mine builds. Its divestments have also provided healthy returns.

The company has been able to do this by recruiting industry specialists – mining and finance – and educating them on the facets they need to succeed in both the private equity and mining world.

“People that join Appian need to be multi-faceted,” Scherb said. “We get mining folks to think like investors and vice versa,” he said.

This has seen them build a project review team populated with former consultants and an operations team full of mine personnel with operational experience.

“We then get all personnel to cross-train across these teams to avoid any siloed disciplines,” Scherb explained.

Take Santa Rita as an example of where this expertise paid off.

The company carried out a six-month due diligence process on Santa Rita, which led to the development of a more defensive and low-cost mine plan able to see the asset through nickel price peaks and troughs – in stark contrast to the plan former operator Mirabela Nickel had for the asset.

Among the operating changes implemented were the use of a smaller, locally procured equipment fleet of 40 t trucks (Santa Rita previously used Caterpillar 777 90 t and 785 137 t payload trucks), the use of shorter benches and tighter blasting patterns.

This resulted in better grade and fragmentation control, improving the feed to the crusher.

It also defined a significant underground resource base at the mine, which it will still be leveraged to thanks to the NSR royalty.

Such moves were based on exploiting the nickel sulphides at Santa Rita. This reoriented focus aligned with the industry preference for nickel tied to the battery materials space, which eventually paid off with the amount of interest in the asset.

This blend of technical and financial expertise has served the company – and any company it has an interest in – well. Backed by a long-term investment philosophy where its funds are 12 years in duration, the company can make moves aligned with the realities and timelines associated with turning assets into mines.

The next asset on the Appian books likely to move into construction-ready territory is Kalbar Operations’ Fingerboards mineral sands project, which focuses on the Glenaladale deposit, about 20 km northwest of Bairnsdale in Victoria, Australia.

Scherb said this project will be “build-ready” very soon, explaining that it is currently going through the permitting stage.

The project has the potential to be one of the world’s major producers of zircon, ilmenite, rutile and rare earths, and Kalbar is proposing an investment of over A$200 million ($148 million) in the development of a project able to produce around 575,000 t/y of heavy mineral concentrate over 15-20 years.

Scherb said Appian is keen to further pursue commodities associated with the electrification of industry, but he is aware of the premiums that may come with these deals.

“A lot of money has flooded into the battery metals,” he said. “We can be patient and are starting to look earlier stage in some investments.”

“Earlier stage” still has the potential to be producing in four- or five-year’s time, he clarified.

What’s clear is that the Appian team is gaining widespread recognition, with Scherb saying larger mining companies are starting to approach them with proposals that would see Appian gain operational control of assets, realising the firm has the right blend of “operational skill” and “value principles” to succeed.

Having acknowledged a skills shortage across the sector – one Appian is doing its bit to tackle with internship programs with universities in Canada, the UK and Australia – Scherb was confident the company’s talent would be retained and, ultimately, grow.

“In terms of talent retention, we at Appian offer experience of reviewing many different assets at different times in their lifecycle,” he said. “If you’re in-house at a mining company, you run the ruler over the same assets, stress testing them against different scenarios. We offer our teams variety that they cannot get in many places.

“At the same time, our structure means employees invest directly in companies to ensure they are correctly incentivised. This means they get to share in the profits.”

With plans to make one-to-three investments per year – along with the same number of exits – and expectations of committing its latest $775 million fund within the next two quarters, expect to hear more from Appian into 2022.