Name of the Project
Yangibana rare earths project.

Location
Western Australia’s Gascoyne region.

Project Owner/s
Rare earths developer Hastings Technology Metals.

Project Description
Yangibana has an estimated mine life of 17 years and will be developed in two stages.

Stage 1 will be focused on the mine and beneficiation plant to produce a rare earth.

Mining operations will comprise openpit mining, including conventional drill, blast, load and haul, with an estimated ore feed of 1.1-million tonnes a year into the processing plant. The mined ore will be processed through a circuit of crushing, grinding, flotation, tailings and handling, with an output of up to 37 000 t/y of rare-earth concentrate at 27% total rare-earth oxides (TREO). 

In Stage 2, a hydrometallurgical plant will be built, which will process the concentrate from Yangibana into an intermediate product, called a mixed rare-earth carbonate, through a process of cracking, leaching, precipitation and drying.

Once completed, the plant will have an output of up to 15 000 t/y of mixed rare-earth carbonate at 59% TREO, to be shipped to Hastings’ customers for further downstream processing into neodymium/praseodymium oxides, which are then metallised and alloyed before being made into a permanent magnet. 

Potential Job Creation
The project will create more than 470 construction jobs and more than 270 operational jobs at steady-state operation.

Net Present Value/Internal Rate of Return
The project’s net present value, at an 8% discount rate, has increased from $549-million in the 2019 update to $1.01-billion in the 2022 update. The internal rate of return has increased from 21% to 26%. Payback is estimated at 2.7 years from the start of production.

Capital Expenditure
Total capital costs (Stage 1 and 2) as November 14, 2024, were estimated at $223-million.

Planned Start/End Date
First production is expected in the fourth quarter of 2026.

Latest Developments
Metals and mining group Wyloo has entered into exclusive negotiations with Hastings Technology Metals to establish an unincorporated joint venture (JV) for the project.

In addition, Wyloo has acquired a 19.99% equity stake in TSX-listed Neo Performance Materials Neo from Hastings for A$79.8-million, becoming its largest shareholder.
The transaction value aligns with the cancellation of exchangeable notes of an equivalent amount.

Wyloo will hold a 60% participating interest in the venture and act as the manager and operator, while Hastings' wholly owned subsidiary, Yangibana Jubilee, will hold a 40% interest. Wyloo will have the option to increase its stake to 70%.

The JV will encompass Stage 1 of the Yangibana project and the Stage 2 hydrometallurgical plant.

The remaining exchangeable notes will be cancelled upon the venture’s formation, with Hastings settling the value of its remaining 623 816 shares, or 1.49%, in Neo through a cash payment to Wyloo.

"Partnering with Wyloo brings incremental technical expertise and strong financial backing to our project, which is already one-third completed. The early termination of the Wyloo exchangeable notes and bringing in a strong partner at this juncture, where A$226-million has already been spent by Hastings as part of the Phase 1 and Phase 2 project development, will bring greater certainty to final funding and on more competitive terms," Hastings executive chairperson Charles Lew has said.

Hastings will continue pursuing opportunities to develop downstream hydrometallurgical and magnet processing plants in Saudi Arabia, which Lew has said will complement the JV with Wyloo.

The completion of the JV agreement and other binding documentation is expected by the end of March 2025, pending regulatory approvals.

Key Contracts, Suppliers and Consultants
GM Engineering Services (EPC).

Contact Details for Project Information
Hastings Technology Metals, tel +61 8 6117 6118.