Hastings set to ride next rare earths high tide

The assets astatine Yangibana present stands astatine 29.93 cardinal tonnes astatine an mean people of 0.93 per cent full uncommon world oxides (TREO) and it has a proved and probable mineral reserve of 20.93 cardinal tonnes astatine an mean people of 0.9 per cent TREO – which Hastings says volition enactment an expected excavation beingness of astatine slightest 17 years.

While the people is modest, the existent kicker is the percent of the cardinal magnet uncommon earths neodymium and praseodymium (NdPr) that volition beryllium mined from the orebody during the beingness of mine.

NdPr uncommon earths are utilized successful electrical conveyance (EV) motor concern magnets and merchantability for handsome prices. Hastings says during the beingness of its mine, the NdPr contented volition beryllium a stellar 37 per cent and successful immoderate places, much than 50 per cent.

To enactment that successful immoderate perspective, well-known uncommon earths deposits specified arsenic Lynas Rare Earths’ Mt Weld task successful WA beryllium astatine astir 23 per cent NdPr contented and adjacent the revered Mountain Pass uncommon earths excavation adjacent Las Vegas successful the United States lone clocks successful astatine 16 per cent.

In fact, immoderate benignant of investigation of a handbasket of a twelve oregon truthful uncommon earths shows convincingly that if you don’t person coagulated shows of NdPr successful your orebody, oregon the adjacent much lucrative “heavy” EV magnet uncommon earths known arsenic terbium and dysprosium then, with lone a mates of uncommon exceptions, you are bottom-dwelling successful presumption of prices per kilogram.

Financially, Hastings expects NdPr to relationship for astir 86 per cent of the gross from the handbasket of uncommon earths that tin beryllium sold from its mine.

According to Benchmark Minerals, the terms of dysprosium, praseodymium and neodymium spiked concisely successful April, marking the archetypal clip this twelvemonth that cardinal uncommon earths prices person really moved northbound since their dependable diminution from 2022.

Interestingly, it wasn’t each that agelong agone that punters were lamenting the information they had missed the vessel with uncommon earths and lithium aft plentifulness of marketplace caps successful the assemblage got each stratospheric.

Fast guardant to contiguous and galore of those boats person returned to harbour and the question present is which vessel looks champion equipped to grip the adjacent precocious tide erstwhile it comes in, arsenic galore judge it volition for some lithium and uncommon earths. Perhaps much importantly, the existent question is – which institution tin determination rapidly to really physique a excavation erstwhile the uncommon earths prices commencement to determination northbound again?

Hastings describes Yangibana arsenic a “shovel-ready” tier-one uncommon earths plus and the $153 cardinal already spent connected capex volition nary uncertainty spot it successful the vanguard of the adjacent question of players that volition look to instrumentality speedy vantage of immoderate stirring of the uncommon earths price.

That capex fig includes $135 cardinal for completion of aboriginal works, an accommodation village, 2km airstrip, h2o bore-field and tract entree roads, on with the acquisition of agelong lead-time works and associated engineering.

The aerial portion astatine Hastings Technology Metals’ Yangibana project.

Hastings has besides commissioned much than 100 bench-scale tests done astatine commercialized met labs employing implicit 80 illustration variables to trial its modular travel expanse and tally 2 pilot-scale tests to validate the travel expanse successful progressive throughput scale-ups.

Of adjacent value is the information that astir inexplicably, the institution has already secured the crazy-long database of approvals it needs to spell mining.

The task shows a portion ratio of astir 9:1. However, and importantly, that fig comes down to conscionable 5:1 successful the important archetypal 5 years erstwhile the unit is connected to repay the capex.

Hastings assessed the anticipation of expanding the pay-off from the Yangibana ore by outsourcing the multi-stage processing done mixed uncommon world carbonates to uncommon world oxides – that is, the separation of the handbasket of uncommon earths into idiosyncratic saleable oxides.

To that end, it has secured a seven-year offtake statement for its ore with privately-owned Chinese institution Baotou Skyrock for 10,000 tonnes of concentrate, with an enactment to widen the statement for a further 5 years.

Management says the institution is looking to found different offtake agreements with up to 3 different companies to process immoderate oregon each of the remaining yearly 27,000 tonnes of production.

Despite the estimated 17-year excavation life, Hastings inactive has a large chunk of geophysics from its 2018 surveys that uncover plentifulness of different high-priority drill targets with further assets imaginable astatine Yangibana.

Importantly, astir 91 per cent of the drilling to day has been little than 100m heavy and the tiny remainder of drilling to greater depths shows the ferro-carbonatite bodies proceed emphatically to greater depth. Additionally, successful places wherever the ridges look to beryllium discontinuous astatine surface, they tin beryllium confirmed by drilling oregon geophysics to beryllium laterally continuous nether cover.

The important factors of dominantly shallow drilling and the acknowledged lateral and vertical hold imaginable person tremendous implications to summation the resources astatine the project.

Based connected existing known reserves, Hastings proposes improvement successful 2 stages, with an archetypal absorption connected the operation of the excavation site-located processing works to nutrient astir 37,000 tonnes a twelvemonth of mixed uncommon earths ore and the anticipation of aboriginal downstream processing being contemplated, which would necessitate the summation of a hydrometallurgical works that is apt to beryllium offsite.

The institution envisages the anticipation of becoming a “mine-to-magnet” shaper successful time, capturing the full-value concatenation wrong the magnet uncommon earths sector. Its strategical 21.15 per cent shareholding successful TSX-listed Neo Performance Materials is possibly a superior indicator of that.

Neo is simply a starring planetary uncommon earths processing and precocious imperishable magnets producer, providing immoderate imaginable blue-sky upside to the project.

Yangibana has different upside opportunities, too. For instance, portion neodymium and praseodymium are the highest-priced “light” magnet uncommon earths, dysprosium and peculiarly terbium, some of which are considered “heavy” uncommon earths, are adjacent much lucrative.

In fact, terbium tin merchantability for up to 15 times much than neodymium and praseodymium and tin fetch arsenic overmuch arsenic $800 to $900 a kilogram.

The task has lone a faint splattering of dysprosium and terbium successful the cardinal resource, but conscionable precocious the institution stumbled crossed high-grade dysprosium (2.08kg per tonne) and terbium (0.26kg per tonne) stone chips astir 30km from the main resource. It besides recovered yttrium going 13.55kg a tonne and uranium with ore grades up to 946 parts per million.

While it is excessively aboriginal to tell, the emergence of serious-grade dense uncommon earths astatine Yangibana could perchance instrumentality a red-hot poker into the task and with the satellite clamouring for uranium close now, this whitethorn adjacent beryllium an wholly caller skyline for Hastings.

Yangibana adjacent shows traces of niobium, albeit a batch much enactment is required to sniff retired that source. Niobium made a spectacular entranceway into the ASX precocious erstwhile its find by WA1 Resources among its uncommon earths caused that company’s stock terms to spike from 14c to judge it oregon not … much than $18.

Hastings intelligibly has a batch connected its sheet astatine Yangibana, nevertheless its archetypal task is to heighten its authorities of readiness to pounce erstwhile the uncommon earths marketplace swings – and fewer would impeach it of dragging its feet successful that regard. It has a reserve and excavation program successful place, offtake agreements, agelong pb clip items ordered and $153 cardinal already pumped into capex astatine the project.

Like Pilbara, Hastings has a thesis and it is putting its wealth wherever its rima is extracurricular of the precocious extremity of the commodity pricing cycle. Part of that thesis says the compounded yearly maturation complaint (CAGR) for uncommon earths magnets volition beryllium astatine slightest 7.8 per cent a twelvemonth for the foreseeable aboriginal arsenic EVs and renewable vigor sources commencement to deed their straps.

Hastings says that benignant of maturation complaint would necessitate different 13 Yangibana-sized uncommon earths projects to travel connected watercourse by 2032 to conscionable request – a bully occupation to have!

The large gamble, of course, is the uncommon earths pricing.

Current NdPr prices person dropped considerably beneath the company’s 2017 DFS prices it relied on. However, each upward increment from present volition person punters wondering if present is the clip to leap connected this vessel arsenic it seems well-placed to sail retired connected the adjacent uncommon earths precocious tide.

Is your ASX-listed institution doing thing interesting? Contact: mattbirney@bullsnbears.com.au