PERTH (miningweekly.com) – Heavy rare earths producer Northern Minerals has launched a scoping study to investigate downstream processing of mixed rare earths into separated rare earth oxides.

The ASX-listed company has selected US-based K-Technologies to assess the suitability of its proprietary technology to separate intermediate mixed rare earths material from the Browns Range project, in Western Australia, into targeted individual rare earth oxides.

If adopted, the technology would allow Northern Minerals to produce separated rare earth oxides, including dysprosium oxide and terbium oxide, rather than a mixed heavy rare earth carbonate that currently required separation in China, the company said on Wednesday.

“The pilot plant project at Browns Range is all about understanding the potential to become a globally significant heavy rare earths producer,” said MD and CEO George Bauk.

“The investigation of separation technology is a natural extension of the existing pilot plant studies. With everything we do, we are looking at ways of doing it better, more profitably and delivering value to our shareholders.

“With the recent announcement regarding the adoption of ore sorting technology, which will increase production and reduce costs, this exciting new initiative has the potential to take that increased production and convert it into a significantly more valuable and sought-after end product.”

A sample of the Browns Range product will be dispatched to K-Tech in August, and initial testwork results are expected in the December quarter. If the bench-scale testwork and the scoping study are successful, the company will undertake a pilot testwork programme and install the technology as part of the current pilot plant project at Browns Range, to assess the saleability of the differentiated product to an end-user customer base.