Arafura Resources Ltd (ASX:ARU) has completed the seventh and final stage of its rare earth separation pilot plant program.
Most notable, the program’s results confirm Arafura’s ability to produce separate rare earth products from its flagship Nolans Neodymium-Praseodymium (NdPr) Project in the Northern Territory.
The program used ore taken the Nolans Project and commenced in November 2016.
The program had two primary objective – to produce saleable products to the specification of customers, and to acquire data for the design of the eventual separation plant at the project.
Two products to be made available to potential customers
The program produced a refined liquor in which NdPr constitutes >99.9% of the total contained rare earth elements (TREE).
It also produced a refined liquor where SEG-HRE (middle and heavy rare earths) comprised >99.5% of the TREE.
The NdPr oxide and SEG-HRE carbonate product samples will be made available for assessment as previously agreed with potential customers.
Unique Nolans Project well-positioned
Arafura’s managing director Gavin Lockyer said: “The results of the pilot are not unexpected and confirm our ability to produce separate rare earth products at Nolans.
“Producing final product at a time when countries are re-assessing their supply chains for critical materials such as NdPr oxide puts us in a great position to enhance our reputation as a long-term potential supplier in the market.
“Nolans is the only NdPr-focused development in Australia that has full environmental approvals.
“This provides international customers with confidence that their product is being sourced from reliable and ethical practices through the full lifecycle of the project including rehabilitation.”