PERTH (miningweekly.com) – Rare earths developer Arafura Rare Earths has inked an offtake agreement with wind turbine manufacturer Siemens Gamesa Renewable Energy for the supply of neodymium and praseodymium (NdPr) from the Nolans project, in the Northern Territory.
Under the five-year term, Arafura will supply 200 t/y NdPr starting in 2026, and will increase this to 360 t/y in the second year, and 400 t/y in years three to five as production at Nolans ramps up.
Arafura noted on Tuesday that this was the second offtake agreement to be signed at Nolans, with 53% of the targeted 85% of yearly production at Nolans now contracted under long-term sales agreements.
“We are delighted to have concluded negotiations for our second offtake agreement. Siemens Gamesa is the world’s leading manufacturer of offshore wind turbines, and this agreement complements our strategy to create supply diversification into the renewable and e-mobility sectors,” says Arafura MD Gavin Lockyer.
He adds that the offtake agreement will support ongoing discussions with German ECA Euler Hermes, which recently provided Arafura with a non-binding letter of in-principle support for an untied loan guarantee of up to $600-million to support the Nolans project. The untied loan guarantee of up to $600-million is non-binding, indicative only and any final guarantee amount will be determined with reference to the offtake volume processed in Germany, final offtake structures with German companies and NdPr market conditions at the time.
Capital costs to develop Nolans have been estimated at A$1.39-billion pre-production, and a A$196-million contingency, with the project expected to produce 4 440/t of NdPr oxide over a mine life of 38 years.
Operating costs have been estimated at A$61.60/kg of NdPr.