Name of the Project
Nolans neodymium-praseodymium (NdPr) project.

Location
Northern Territory, Australia.

Client
Arafura Resources.

Project Description
Nolans is one of the most advanced rare earths development projects globally. The Nolans Bore resource is rich in NdPr – the key rare earths used in high-strength permanent magnets.

The project has total mineral resources estimated at 56-million tonnes at 2.6% rare-earth oxides using a 1% cutoff grade.

The measured and indicated resources base has the potential to support mining and processing operations for at least 30 to 35 years, at a design capacity of 14 000 t/y of total rare-earth oxides (TREO) equivalent.

Opencut mining will selectively target phosphate-rich material types, which comprise more than two-thirds of the deposit’s measured and indicated resource inventory. Arafura is planning to mine up to five-million tonnes a year to produce 650 000 t of run-of-mine ore as feed to a three-stage crushing circuit.

Crushed ore will initially be processed in a beneficiation plant that uses whole-of-ore flotation as the main unit operation. Beneficiation reduces the mass for subsequent processing by about 50%.

The flotation concentrate will be pumped about 8 km through a slurry pipeline to an extraction plant.

Chemical processing at the extraction plant will use a phosphoric acid preleach process that leverages the phosphate-rich characteristics of the concentrate, resulting in the production of 110 000 t/y of merchant grade (54%) phosphoric acid for sale to the fertiliser market.

Solid rare earth-bearing products from preleach will be subjected to several processes at the extraction plant, which involves baking, water leach, precipitation, dissolution and purification. Output from the extraction plant will be 16 450 t/y of an NdPr-rich rare-earth chloride intermediate product, and a lower-value cerium oxide product.

The rare-earth chloride intermediate product will be further refined at an offshore separation plant into  NdPr oxide, lanthanum (La) oxide and a mixed middle-heavy rare-earth (SEG-HRE) carbonate. Production is estimated at 3 600 t/y of NdPr oxide, 2 660 t/y of La oxide and 660 t/y of SEG-HRE concentrate.

Arafura is assessing a site for the separation plant in the Saemangeum Free Economic Zone, in South Korea, in a potential joint venture with OCI Company.

Potential Job Creation
Not stated.

Net Present Value/Internal Rate of Return
The project has an estimated net present value of A$2.045-billion after tax, with a 10% discount rate. It has an internal rate of return of 21.4% and an after-tax payback of capital in the fifth year of operation.

Value
Overall capital costs, including contingency, are estimated at A$1.43-billion.

Duration
Construction is expected to start in mid-2016 and production in early 2019.

Latest Developments
Arafura Resources will raise A$1.5-million through a share placement to institutional and sophisticated investors, to assist in funding the completion of a definitive feasibility study (DFS) at its Nolans project.

An estimated 13.6-million new shares will be placed at a price of 11c each under the company’s existing capacity, meaning shareholder approval will not be required.

In September, Arafura reported that the mine life at the project could be extended beyond 30 years, with mine planning work undertaken ahead of the DFS establishing a larger mining inventory.

The study reported a mining inventory and strategic production schedules that could enable  Arafura to produce 14 000 t/y of total rare-earth oxides, including 3 600 t/y of NdPr oxide for more than 30 years.

The project is expected to have a maximum mining rate of five-million tonnes a year for the majority of the mine life, with steady-state beneficiation plant feed rate estimated at 525 000 t/y for the first 11 years of operation.

Key Contracts and Suppliers
None stated.

On Budget and on Time?
Not stated.

Contact Details for Project Information
Arafura Resources, tel +61 8 6210 7666, fax +61 8 9221 7966 or email media@arafuraresources.com.au.