Name of the Project
Yangibana rare earths project.

Location
Western Australia’s Gascoyne region.

Project Owner/s
Rare earths developer Hastings Technology Metals.

Project Description
Yangibana has an estimated mine life of 17 years and will be developed in two stages.

Stage 1 will be focused on the mine and beneficiation plant to produce a rare earth.

Mining operations will comprise openpit mining, including conventional drill, blast, load and haul, with an estimated ore feed of 1.1-million tonnes a year into the processing plant. The mined ore will be processed through a circuit of crushing, grinding, flotation, tailings and handling, with an output of up to 37 000 t/y of rare-earth concentrate at 27% total rare-earth oxides (TREO). 

In Stage 2, a hydrometallurgical plant will be built, which will process the concentrate from Yangibana into an intermediate product, called a mixed rare-earth carbonate, through a process of cracking, leaching, precipitation and drying.

Once completed, the plant will have an output of up to 15 000 t/y of mixed rare-earth carbonate at 59% TREO, to be shipped to Hastings’ customers for further downstream processing into neodymium/praseodymium oxides, which are then metallised and alloyed before being made into a permanent magnet. 

Potential Job Creation
The project will create more than 470 construction jobs and more than 270 operational jobs at steady-state operation.

Net Present Value/Internal Rate of Return
The project’s net present value, at an 8% discount rate, has increased from $549-million in the 2019 update to $1.01-billion in the 2022 update. The internal rate of return has increased from 21% to 26%. Payback is estimated at 2.7 years from the start of production.

Capital Expenditure
Total capital costs (Stage 1 and 2) as November 14, 2024, were estimated at $223-million.

Planned Start/End Date
First production is expected in the fourth quarter of 2026.

Latest Developments
Hastings Technology Metals announced on November 18 that Andrew Forrest’s Wyloo Metals had withdrawn its default notice and reaffirmed its support for Hastings and the project.

Wyloo had previously accused Hastings of breaching terms pertaining to a A$150-million loan from Equator Capital Management, a company with ties to executive chairperson Charles Lew. Wyloo expressed concern that the loan arrangement had granted Equator priority repayment rights.

In response, Hastings agreed to amend Equator’s project loan notes to release the security interest; the loan will now be unsecured.

These amended terms were negotiated at arm's length and approved by the Hastings board, with Lew recusing himself from the decision-making process.

A key issue for Wyloo has been the forthcoming redemption of its exchangeable notes, set to mature in less than a year. Wyloo estimates that Hastings will need to raise about A$220-million by November 2025 to redeem the notes. Hastings will also need to secure further capital to complete construction of Yangibana proect.

In a statement on November 18, Wyloo CEO Luca Giacovazzi expressed the company’s support of Hastings’ efforts to fund the remaining capital needed for theproject.

“Hastings will discuss with Wyloo the constructive redemption of the exchangeable notes in advance of the maturity of the exchangeable notes in October 2025,” he said.

Hastings remains focused on progressing Yangibana’s phased development. The company has already spent A$223-million (one-third of the project’s total capital expenditure) on the initial stage, which includes the construction of the mine and beneficiation plant. 

It continues to explore funding solutions for the remainder of the project’s financing and assess downstream processing opportunities, including the development of a hydrometallurgical plant to capture more of the rare earth value chain. 

Key Contracts, Suppliers and Consultants
GM Engineering Services (EPC).

Contact Details for Project Information
Hastings Technology Metals, tel +61 8 6117 6118.