State Government Commendation for Yangibana RE Project
Perth, Sep 16, 2021 AEST (ABN Newswire) - Australia's next rare earths producer Hastings Technology Metals Ltd (
ASX:HAS) (5AM:FRA) is pleased to announce that it has received the commendation of Premier Mark McGowan and the Western Australian Government for the Company's development of the Yangibana Rare Earths Project (Yangibana), in the State's Gascoyne region.
Premier McGowan said Hastings' development of Yangibana was expressly aligned with the State's Future Battery Industry Strategy, which aims to expand the range of future battery minerals that are extracted and processed in Western Australia. Appendix 1 provides a copy of the public commendation that Hastings has received.
The Premier's commendation follows the West Australian Department of Jobs, Tourism, Science and Innovation (JTSI) acknowledging that the Yangibana Project represents a strategic opportunity for investment and growth to position the State as a reliable supplier of speciality rare earth minerals.
DevelopmentWA approval for ANSIA Lot 600
The Premier's commendation coincides with the DevelopmentWA Board approving Hastings' application to enter into discussions for an option to lease Lot 600 within the Ashburton North Strategic Industrial Area (ANSIA) for a tenure period of up to 30 years. ANSIA, approximately 15km southwest from Onslow, is a well-connected industrial precinct that also houses the Chevron-operated Wheatstone LNG project. Lot 600 is the proposed site for Yangibana's hydrometallurgical plant. DevelopmentWA board approval is an important Yangibana Project milestone that enables Hastings to complete detailed engineering, planning and secondary permitting for early works of the hydrometallurgy plant infrastructure.
Yangibana mine site fly camp operational, civil works advancing
Early works as part of a $20 million infrastructure scope of activities are now underway at the Yangibana mine site. The 60-bed fly camp is operational and key staff and contractors are operating from the site. Enabling infrastructure works will continue ahead of the plant construction activities and mine development planned for 2022.
As Hastings announced last month - see ASX announcement dated 25 August 2021 Site Works Commence at Yangibana Rare Earths Project - the initial construction focus will encompass:
- Access roads connecting the mine site to the public Shire roads;
- A 2,000m-long airstrip capable of accommodating aircraft up to 50 seat capacity;
- A 300-bed accommodation village;
- A multi-tower communications microwave link to connect the site to the public intra-state network;
- Water reticulation from the borefield to the processing plant; and
- Ongoing geotechnical activities.
Yangibana Project finance progressing quickly
Hastings has made significant progress towards securing the project finance required to fund Yangibana's construction, with extensive due diligence undertaken by potential lenders since late July. Potential lenders are now preparing final credit submissions and Hastings is expecting responses to be received during Q4 2021.
Hastings is actively engaged with leading project finance banks in Australia and Europe as well as specialist mining funds in addition to the Commonwealth's Northern Australia Infrastructure Facility, Finland's export credit agency (Finnvera) and Germany's state bank (KFW-Ipex Bank).
Once firm credit-approved commitments are received in Q4 2021, the drafting of formal loan documentation will be undertaken ahead of completion of standard conditions precedent and first drawdown in 2022.
Following the Company's announcement of a significant increase in Yangibana's Ore Reserves - see ASX announcement dated 27 July 2021 Yangibana Ore Reserve Tonnes Up 37%, NdPr Tonnes up 18% - Hastings is updating the project economic outputs. These outputs will also incorporate the latest general market consensus for NdPr pricing. The updated project economic outputs will be provided to investors with the confirmation of the final project debt finance position.
Commenting on the McGowan Government commendation and positive progress at Yangibana, Hastings Technology Metals Executive Chairman Charles Lew said:
"I would like to personally thank Premier McGowan and the Government of Western Australia for their support of Hastings and our ambition to contribute towards the State's Future Battery Industry Strategy through the development of our Yangibana Project.
"I am incredibly proud of the Hastings team's commitment and dedication to the challenge of building Australia's next rare earths operation in the Gascoyne region of Western Australia.
"Early works activity is gathering momentum at Hastings across a number of fronts as we move into readying Yangibana for plant construction to commence.
"The acceleration in decarbonisation globally in the past 12 months has placed an increasing impetus on the Yangibana Project to play a vital part in the transition to a cleaner energy mix, a message we are hearing loud and clear from our offtake partners in Europe and Asia. Yangibana is in the right place at the right time to support this transition."
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About Hastings Technology Metals Ltd
Hastings Technology Metals Ltd (ASX:HAS) (FRA:5AM) is advancing its Yangibana Rare Earths Project in the Upper Gascoyne Region of Western Australia towards production. The proposed beneficiation and hydro metallurgy processing plant will treat rare earths deposits, predominantly monazite, hosting high neodymium and praseodymium contents to produce a mixed rare earths carbonate that will be further refined into individual rare earth oxides at processing plants overseas.
Neodymium and praseodymium are vital components in the manufacture of permanent magnets which is used in a wide and expanding range of advanced and high-tech products including electric vehicles, wind turbines, robotics, medical applications and others. Hastings aims to become the next significant producer of neodymium and praseodymium outside of China.
Hastings holds 100% interest in the most significant deposits within the overall project, and 70% interest in additional deposits that will be developed at a later date, all held under Mining Leases. Numerous prospects have been identified warranting detailed exploration to further extend the life of the project.
Brockman Project
The Brockman deposit, near Halls Creek in Western Australia, contains JORC Indicated and Inferred Mineral Resources, estimated using the guidelines of JORC Code (2012 Edition).
The Company is also progressing a Mining Lease application over the Brockman Rare Earths and Rare Metals Project.
Hastings aims to capitalise on the strong demand for critical rare earths created by the expanding demand for new technology products.
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