Name and Location
Nolans rare earths project, Northern Territory and South Australia, Australia.

Client
Arafura Resources.

Project Description
The Nolans project comprises operations at two sites in Australia – the Nolans Bore mine, in the Northern Territory, and the Whyalla rare earths complex, in South Australia.

The mineral resource estimate for Nolans Bore is currently 47-million tonnes grading 2.6% rare-earth oxide (REO) for 1.2-million tonnes of contained REO. Fifty-four per cent of these resources are classified as measured and indicated and they have been earmarked for conversion to ore reserves. Nolans Bore is highly enriched in neodymium, which is one of the most sought-after and valuable rare earths.

The Nolans Bore resource is amenable to low-cost opencut mining and standard beneficiation techniques and will be mined using selective opencut methods. Opencut mining will be conducted using conventional blast, shovel and truck techniques to supply material to the run-of-mine pad for feeding into an on-site concentrator, comprising a comminution circuit and beneficiation circuits.

Interim pit optimisation studies show that more than twenty years of production is possible, based only on measured and indicated resources, with an indicative mine life of more than 30 years, assuming that the entire resource, as currently defined, can be processed.

Value
A$1.4-billion.

Duration
Not stated.

Latest Developments
Arafura has reduced the capital cost of its Nolans project by 27% through a range of initiatives.

Capital cost projections for the project have decreased from an initial A$1.9-billion, as estimated in 2012, to A$1.4-billion, following a cost review.

Over recent months, Arafura has identified several revisions to the project, including a revised design at the rare earth intermediate plant, resulting in the replacement of hydrochloric acid with sulphuric acid in the preleach system.

In June last year, the miner reported a A$400-million saving in capital costs by abandoning plans for a rare earths complex in South Australia, cancelling a land sale agreement with OneSteel.

The new capital expenditure projections include a 15% contingency.

Meanwhile, Arafura’s operating cost projections have also decreased from the A$20.55/kg of REO predicted in 2012 to A$15.67/kg of rare-earth oxide, based on production of 20 000 t/y.

The company says that the key reductions in the operating costs are as a result of greater efficiencies in beneficiation, rare earth extraction and separation, and simplifying the supply chain.

Key Contracts and Suppliers
Aecom Australia (environmental-impact studies); Lycopodium, Parsons Brinckerhoff and Amec Minproc (engineering study manager for bankable feasibility study).

On Budget and on Time?
The completion of the BFS has been delayed until at least the third quarter of 2013.

Contact Details for Project Information
Amec, Brittni Baum, tel +61 8 9347 4777 or email brittni.baum@amec.com; or Jane Gospel, tel +44 20 75 39 1082 or email jane.gospel@amec.com.
Arafura Resources CEO Steve Ward, tel +61 8 6210 7666, fax +61 8 6210 7966 or email arafura@arafuraresources.com.au.
Lycopodium, tel +61 8 6210 5222 or email limited@lycopodium.com.au.
Parsons Brinckerhoff communications manager Elaine Hill, tel +61 7 3854 6868 or email e1hill@pb.com.au.