A first formal customer assessment of mixed rare earth carbonate from ABx Group Ltd (ASX:ABX)'s Deep Leads project in northern Tasmania has confirmed the product is high quality and suitable for downstream separation, supporting plans to move toward supply discussions and larger-scale testing.
The assessment was carried out by US-based Rare Earth Technologies Inc (RETi), which tested a sample of ABx’s maiden mixed rare earth carbonate (MREC) using its proprietary refining flowsheet. RETi found the product had high purity, dissolved fully during processing and was compatible with its separation technology, which is designed to produce high-purity individual rare earth streams.
Customer feedback is significant for ABx, because rare earth products can face strict and variable quality requirements depending on the end market. Managing director and CEO Mark Cooksey said the result reinforced the company’s view that the ionic adsorption clay nature of the Deep Leads deposit supports both low-cost extraction and a high-quality MREC product.
“We are delighted that the first formal customer assessment of our MREC is extremely positive and matches our expectations. Rare earth products can have very high quality requirements that vary amongst different applications, so positive customer feedback is crucial. We have consistently emphasised that because the Deep Leads deposit is an ionic adsorption clay rare earth resource, it is conducive to low-cost extraction and high MREC product quality. This feedback from RETi is very strong supporting evidence for the high value of the Deep Leads MREC.
“These results give us great confidence to rapidly advance our project. We already know that we can produce an MREC that meets customer requirements using a well-established commercial process. Our focus is on finalising a project design that can be advanced to commercial operation in the shortest time and at the lowest cost.”
Product passes key downstream stages
From a product perspective, RETi’s assessment indicates the Deep Leads MREC can progress through several key processing steps, including conversion to soluble nitrate form, cerium depletion and chromatographic separation of individual rare earth elements.
ABx said the testing showed cerium could be effectively removed to produce a high-purity cerium oxide co-product, while downstream separation also generated high-purity rare earth streams. In the company’s view, that confirms the product is a suitable feedstock for RETi’s refining process.
The assessment also provides ABx with an early third-party indication that its MREC may have commercial appeal beyond laboratory-scale production. The company has previously said samples from Deep Leads were being sent to multiple prospective customers, and described the latest feedback as evidence of both product quality and customer interest.
Supply talks and larger-scale testing next
Further engagement with RETi over potential supply will now be ABx's focus and the parties will now advance discussions on supplying MREC to the US group.
The next stage is likely to involve evaluation of larger product volumes at RETi’s facilities.
At the same time, ABx said it remains focused on finalising a project design that could support commercial production of MREC as quickly and cheaply as possible.