Australian heavy rare earths producer Northern Minerals (ASX: NTU) has released its results for the three months ending 31 December 2019.
Production from its flagship Browns Range Heavy Rare Earth Pilot Plant Project in the East Kimberley region of Western Australia continued during the quarter as the Company assessed the technical and economic feasibility of a full scale operation.
Northern Minerals is one of a few no-Chinese producers of dysprosium. The pilot plant is continuing to assess the technical and economic feasibility of a full-scale commercial operation. Northern Minerals is continuing to increase output from the pilot plant to steady state to assess the quality of the rare earth carbonate produced. Test work has identified areas of new knowledge that have been applied to the pilot plant.
HIGHLIGHTS:
-
Pilot plant at Browns Range is continuing operations, with nameplate capacity rates expected to be achieved in the coming months
-
Significant modifications successfully undertaken on the kiln feed system to improve throughput and performance
-
The prices of Dysprosium and Terbium eased slightly during the quarter, down 7-8%, however for the full calendar year, the Dy price increased by 48% and the Tb price rose by 16% over the same period
-
New assays from the RC program undertaken at Dazzler returned the best ever results from Browns Range
-
Siteworks for the ore sorting project have commenced ahead of expected installation during the June quarter
-
Initial separation scoping study results were positive, with the next stage of assessment underway in the US
-
Sales to offtake partner thyssenkrupp progressed during the quarter, with shipments commencing post-quarter end following completion of documentation
-
Discussions continuing with government and government agencies with regards to the critical minerals framework and Browns Range
-
Training2Work facility at Browns Range officially opened
-
Post quarter end, high grade copper rock chip results up to 2.9% Cu returned from the John Galt Project.
