JOHANNESBURG (miningweekly.com) – German holding company Tantalus Rare Earths has signed a multiyear contract to supply ThyssenKrupp Metallurgical Products with rare-earth oxide (REO).

Under the agreement, ThyssenKrupp would buy 30% of the yearly output of mixed REO produced at Tantalus’s flagship TRE project, in Madagascar.

It could potentially buy up to 3 000 t/y of REO from Tanatalus once the project was in full production.

ThyssenKrupp would also act as Tantalus’s exclusive distributor in Germany, and one of its distributors for Europe. The initial duration of the contract would be for three years from the start of commercial production at the project, with the option to extend it for a further seven years.

The option for a total duration of ten years was subject to ThyssenKrupp arranging debt funding for Tantalus, covering 30% of the planned investments until a production level of 10 000 t of mixed REO was reached.

“This contract we have signed with ThyssenKrupp is not only a significant milestone for Tantalus but it also represents a further key endorsement of both the viability of our rare earths project in Madagascar and the robust demand for the magnet rare earth metals we will produce.

“We have now gained two globally leading companies in our sector as commercial partners, ThyssenKrupp, from Germany, and Shenghe Resources, from China. We are extremely well positioned to become one of the globally leading suppliers of magnetic rare earths material used in fast-growing technological applications, such as electric cars and in renewable energy,” commented Tantalus CEO Thomas Hoyer.

TRE PROJECT
The mine’s exploration programme, which was carried out between 2008 and 2014, identified a large rare earth mineralisation.

Rare-earth elements identified in the Tantalus ionic clay deposit included praseodymium, neodymium, terbium and dysprosium, all in high demand for fast-growing magnet applications in the automotive and renewable-energy industries.

Tantalus was now proceeding towards pilot production, obtaining required permits and licences, and subject to success in obtaining the required government authorisations to start commercial production.

The company would start commercial production upon receipt of the necessary exploitation licence, which it expected to receive in the second half of 2016.

After a ramp-up period of about three years, the project was expected to reach its first phase full-production level of 10 000 t/y to generate revenues of about $300-million.

In December, certification company SGS found that the deposit had about 560 000 t of contained total REO as measured, indicated and inferred resources.

At a production rate of 10 000 t/y, this represented a mine life of 50 years.