PERTH (miningweekly.com) – Rare earths developer Northern Minerals has completed the divestment of its non rare earth assets in the Tanami region of the Northern Territory to ASX-listed Northern Star Resources.
MD George Bauk said in Tuesday that following the sale of the noncore assets, the company’s focus would be on the development of the Browns Range project, and in particular, the Browns Range pilot plant development in 2017.
“The sale agreement with Northern Star allows us to maintain the focus on this high-quality dysprosium project,” he added.
Under the deal struck in August last year, Northern Star has already paid A$1.25-million cash up front, and will pay a further A$1.5-million in cash on the establishment of a one-million-ounce Joint Ore Reserves Committee-compliant inferred mineral resource on the tenements.
Northern Minerals will retain all the rare earth rights on all grounds within the divested tenement package, while Northern Star will hold the rights to all other minerals, including gold.
In addition, Northern Star will gain the gold exploration rights at Northern Minerals’ Boulder Ridge rare earth project, also in the Tanami region.
Northern Minerals will also acquire the rights to rare earth elements in four exploration licences that Northern Star has agreed to acquire from fellow-listed Toro Energy.