PERTH (miningweekly.com) – The federal government has awarded ASX-listed Northern Minerals some A$4.8-million in funding as part of its Building Better Regions fund, to develop an Aboriginal training-to-work (T2W) programme at the Browns Range heavy rare earth pilot plant project, in Western Australia.
Northern Minerals said on Monday that the government funding would contribute towards the total A$8.1-million project costs for the T2W project, which would include the establishment of economic infrastructure at Browns Range.
“The development of the Aboriginal T2W programme, in partnership with Wunan, is an important part of the Northern Minerals culture of working closely with our host communities to deliver tangible benefits,” said Northern Minerals MD and CEO George Bauk.
“Having worked in the region for nearly a decade, we recognise and understand the impact that this project will have in east Kimberley communities, and as such, we need to do everything possible to ensure that it is a success.”
The T2W initiative is designed as a benchmark model for long-term Aboriginal engagement that will be disseminated nationally, and the model has been developed from first principles to integrate on-site classroom training with process line experience, supported by a curriculum designed for an Aboriginal audience.”
The proposed A$56-million Browns Range pilot plant is a tenth of the scale of the full operation, and has a 60 000 t/y crushing beneficiation circuit, and 3 200 t/y hydrometallurgical plant, which will produce 590 t of total rare earth oxide in a mixed rare earth carbonate.
The first mixed rare earth carbonate production is expected in mid-2018.
The pilot plant is scheduled to operate for three years, during which time Northern Minerals will take a decision on whether or not to commit to the full-scale operation.