Northern Minerals (ASX: NTU) today provided its annual report to shareholders for the year ended 30 June 2020.
In his letter to shareholders, company chairman Colin McCavana said:
It has been a challenging year, but I am extremely proud of the Company’s achievements over the past 12 months. This time last year, the Browns Range Pilot Plant was one of only a few producers of heavy rare earths outside of China. In January, we made our first shipment of heavy rare earth carbonate to German heavy industries major thyssenkrupp, and our second in March. This was a significant achievement for our company, for Browns Range and for Australia, and we look forward to continuing our relationships with offtake partners into the future.
In March, we made the difficult decision to put operations at Browns Range temporarily on care and maintenance, due to the COVID-19 crisis and the inclusion of Browns Range in the Commonwealth biosecurity restrictions applied to the Kimberley region. After closely following the impact of the virus around the world, we made what we believe to be the right decision for our business, our people, and for the community in which we operate by closing down operations.
As of 1 July, following the lifting of the Commonwealth biosecurity restrictions in the Kimberley region, Browns Range has partially resumed testwork through the beneficiation section of the Pilot Plant and we are greatly encouraged that we will also be able to restart the hydrometallurgical section of the Pilot Plant in due course.
In my note to shareholders last year, I also noted issues around the Company’s research and development tax offset claims over several financial years. We have worked closely with the ATO and other stakeholders to resolve these matters and in August 2020, we have reached a settlement for R&D claims for the financial years ended 30 June 2017, 2018 and 2019, resulting in a net refund of $9.9 million payable to the Company.
The settlement of our R&D claims with the ATO will allow us to further reduce the Company’s debt position and to clean up our balance sheet as we consider the viability of a full size heavy rare earths processing plant at Browns Range.
We will also now take the opportunity to get back out on the ground and ramp-up exploration across our highly prospective tenement package, as we aim to lift the overall life of mine available for inclusion in the next stage of assessing the feasibility a full scale mining and processing operation at Browns Range.
The full exploration potential of Browns Range remains unfulfilled with many targets yet to be drilled. The tenement package, with an area of 30km by 60km, hosts one of the largest occurrences of the heavy rare earth mineral xenotime in the world.
Pleasingly, our safety performance and environmental record at the Browns Range Project remains at a high standard. It is testament to the talented and committed team, whose strong culture has contributed to our safety and environmental record.
In June we said goodbye to our long-time CEO and Managing Director George Bauk, who spearheaded the development of the Pilot Plant Project which transitioned us from explorer to producer.
Our long-term CFO, Mark Tory, has stepped up into the role of CEO. Mark has been with the Company for eight years and brings an intimate knowledge of Northern Minerals and more than 35 years’ professional experience to the role to ensure the Company continues to grow and prosper for shareholders.
I would like to take this opportunity to thank our staff, consultants and contractors for their tireless effort throughout 2019/20 and I thank you, our shareholders, for your patience and continuing support.
I would also like to thank our partners, the Jaru people, for their continuing support, assistance and cooperation – together we hope to make Browns Range the longest-life, most reliable producer of Heavy Rare Earths in Australia and the world.
