Name and Location
Ngualla rare earths project, Tanzania.

Client
Peak Resources.

Project Description
The Ngualla project has an estimated ore reserve of 20.7-million tonnes at 4.54% rare-earth oxides (REOs), comprising 18-million tonnes at 4.53% REO proved ore and 2.7-million tonnes at 4.62% REO probable ore, with an average life-of-mine waste:ore strip ratio of 2.23.

A prefeasibility study (PFS) has confirmed Ngualla to be an economically robust project, at a base case production rate of 10 000 t/y of separated high-purity REOs, with a 58-year mine life.

The PFS proposes using conventional openpit, load, haul and dump mining using a fleet of small-sized owner-operated earthmoving equipment comprising one 70 t excavator and four 40 t, six-wheel-drive articulated dump trucks.

The project includes a carbonatite quarry that will produce about 108 000 t/y, which will be used as a neutralising agent for waste acid streams from the recovery process. A small carbonatite crushing and milling circuit is included in the capital estimates.

Primary infrastructure required for the development of the project includes a general administration building, accommodation and services infrastructure, mining facilities, a tailings storage facility, a power plant and a processing-plant site. The high-purity separated REOs will be trucked to the deep-water Port of Dar es Salaam for export. An 80 km access road to site requires the road to be upgraded to an all-weather road.

Net Present Value/Internal Rate of Return
Not stated.

Value
The underlying capital cost of the project has decreased by 24% from the revised scoping study completed in May 2013 to $282-million. Capital expenditure, including contingency, is $367-million and includes a separation plant to produce high-purity separated products.

Duration
Construction of Ngualla is expected to start at the beginning of 2016, with first product expected by July 2017.

Latest Developments
Peak Resources is hoping to start on its $367-million Ngualla rare earths project by 2016/17 and is working on reducing capital expenditure on the project.

Peak is completing a bankable feasibility study (BFS) on the Ngualla project and, in July, launched a drilling programme to support the detailed engineering requirements of the BFS.

“While the prefeasibility study (PFS) delivered robust economics, we are focused on optimising returns even further and are investigating a range of beneficiation, processing and site options,” Peak Resources MD Darren Townsend has said.

Along with the completion of the BFS, financing and offtake discussions will be progressed over the next 12 months, but Peak has set a target of 2018 for plant commissioning.

Key Contracts and Suppliers
None stated.

On Budget and on Time?
Not stated.

Contact Details for Project Information
Peak Resources, tel +61 8 9200 5360, fax +61 8 9226 3831 or email info@peakresources.com.au.