Planned NT $1.1b rare earths mine could help break China stranglehold

THE $1.1 billion Nolans mine planned for the Territory near Alice Springs could help break a China stranglehold by producing 10 per cent of the world’s rare earths Neodymium and Praseodymium (NdPr).

A handful of extracted rare earth elements. Picture: Jacob Kepler/Bloomberg

THE $1.1 billion Nolans mine planned for the Territory near Alice Springs could help break a China stranglehold by producing 10 per cent of the world’s rare earths Neodymium and Praseodymium (NdPr).

Arafura Resources general manager NT and Sustainability Brian Fowler said the Territory government’s decision, revealed in the NT News yesterday, to grant mineral leases for the site 135km north of Alice Springs was the enabler the company needed to move forward with its rare earths mine, which will produce raw material for renewables

“We are talking with potential US investors, European investors and Asian investors where the push for electric cars is the highest and a guarantee of raw materials supply is needed,” Mr Fowler said.

NT Resource Minister Paul Kirby and Arafura Resources Ltd general manager NT and Sustainability Brian Fowler with core samples from drilling at the proposed $1.1 billion Nolans project near Alice Springs. Picture: Gary Shipway

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He said the coronavirus pandemic had helped put a focus on the Nolans project that had one of the largest deposits of rare earths in the world.

The projected mine life is about 40 years.

“In some respects the COVID situation has assisted Arafura,” Mr Fowler said.

“It has enabled the message to get through that the rare earths industry is controlled almost solely by one country in the world and that’s China, which produces 85 per cent of all the rare earths in the world.

“Right now the world has realised we are beholden to one country and as a consequence the US government has been speaking with the Australian government about trying to develop resources external to that control.

“We are hopeful that through the Federal Critical Mineral fund we may see some underwriting through a concessional loan of about $200m by the Federal Government to assist our project.”

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Mr Fowler said to be able to raise the finances for the $1.1bn mine investors needed the guarantee that Arafura Resources had security over the deposit.

“The NT government has given us that and we can now go to our financiers and say we are ready to go guys, step forward,” he said.

“We expect to be operational in 2023. This is a project that will not only help the Territory but the nation as well as we go through the COVID situation.”