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Lynas Corporation Limited's (ASX: LYC) vision is to be a global leader in Rare Earths for a sustainable future; a vision realised by the passion and practices of our people.
Lynas is an ASX listed company, with the strategy to create a reliable, fully integrated source of Rare Earths supply from mine through to customers, and to become the benchmark for security of supply and environmental standards in the global Rare Earths industry.
Lynas owns the richest deposit of Rare Earths in the world at Mount Weld, Western Australia. Project development has commenced, with the first mining campaign completed and two processing plants underway. All necessary approvals required for project development have been received, the project is funded and production will commence in 2011.
Lynas Corporation boosts rare earths Resource by 19.4% at Mount Weld
Australian rare earths developer Lynas Corporation (ASX: LYC, OTC: LYSDY) has reported a significant increase in the Mineral Resource estimate for the deposit with elevated heavy Rare Earths oxides, previously known as the Southern Zone, within the Mount Weld Project.
Lynas owns the richest known deposit of Rare Earths, also known as Lanthanides, in the world at Mount Weld, near Laverton in Western Australia. The Resource at Mount Weld has been divided into two deposits.
The Mineral Resource estimate for the deposit with a higher distribution of Heavy Rare Earths has increased threefold to 7.62 million tonnes at a grade of 4.8% REO for a total of 366,000 tonnes REO, and has been renamed the Duncan Deposit.
The second deposit, Central Lanthanide, includes the area of the current mine plan and remains essentially unchanged.
The combined Rare Earths Mineral Resource estimate for Mount Weld increased to 17.49 million tonnes at 8.1% REO, giving a new Resource of 1.416 million tonnes of REO, a 19.4% increase in contained REO compared to the previous Resource estimate.
The Duncan deposit is located immediately to the north, east and south of the Central Lanthanide Deposit.
The deposit has an estimated Resource of 7.62 million tonnes at a grade of 4.8% REO for a total of 366,000 tonnes REO with a distribution biased more towards high value heavy Rare Earths. The average depth of this Resource is approximately 35 metres below the surface, which would allow an open-pit approach to mining.
Work has commenced on a pre-feasibility study to determine the optimal process flow sheet to maximise recovery of these valuable Rare Earths.
Preliminary mineralogy test work has been completed and has identified the minerals associated with the heavy Rare Earths as churchite and xenotime, in addition to secondary monazite. Beneficiation process test work is due to commence in late 2010.
The existing Rare Earths operation is based on a mine plan covering a high REO grade zone in the centre of the Mount Weld Carbonatite, this area is within the Central Lanthanide Deposit.
This Central Lanthanide Deposit has a Resource, above a REO cut-off of 2.5%, of 9.88 million tonnes at an average grade of 10.7% REO for a total of 1,057,000 tonnes REO.
The Resource estimate for this area is essentially unchanged from the 3 March 2008 Resource estimate which was 9.46 million tonnes at an average grade of 11.3% REO for a total of 1,073,000 tonnes REO.
Further Resource drilling is planned in early 2011 within the Central Lanthanide Deposit to the west of the current mine plan and pit design.
Following this drilling programme the company anticipates a new pit optimisation will be undertaken, resulting in an expansion of the mine plan and pit design.
On August 23, Lynas revealed the Mount Weld Composition price for rare earths has risen a hefty 102% over the previous month, to US$43.28/kg on an FOB China basis as at 23 August 2010.
