Northern Minerals has been granted a new mining lease for its Browns Range rare earths project – more than doubling the area that can be explored.
The newly granted M80/650 replaces the previous M80/627 lease and extends the area covered in the lease from 4923 hectares to 10,458 hectares by converting existing exploration tenure which includes priority targets for near-term exploration.
The lease has an initial term of 21 years until September 2046, plus an additional 21 years, new information revealed.
The project, located in the East Kimberly region of Western Australia, has previously been categorised as having global strategic value in the production of rare earths – particularly dysprosium and terbium, which are essential in the production of high-performance magnets in electric vehicles.
A definitive feasibility study (DFS) was recently released for the project, which forecasts Browns Range to produce approximately eight per cent of current global supply of dysprosium and terbium – with the ore reserve estimate of 5.18 million tonnes (Mt) at 0.88 per cent total rare earth oxides (TREO) for 45,800 tonnes of TREO.
The project is forecast to deliver average annual earnings before interest, taxes, depreciation, and amortisation (EBITDA) of $175 million and is set to produce approximately 17,500 tonnes per annum (tpa) of xenotime concentrate at approximately 25 per cent TREO, containing around 4350tpa TREO.
“The global push to decarbonise in undeniable and irreversible, reinforcing the strategic value of projects like Browns Range to supply the raw materials that will enable energy transition,” Northern Minerals managing director Shane Hartwig said previously.
It’s understood Northern Minerals will continue to undertake exploration activities over the granted mining lease.
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