Arafura Resources Ltd (ASX:ARU) has appointed Hatch Ltd to carry out engineering and procurement services for a hydrometallurgical plant at the Nolans NdPr Project 135 kilometres north of Alice Springs in Australia’s Northern Territory.
Hatch was selected from three international engineering firms through a competitive process to ensure full project understanding, cost assessment and risk and liability management for the plant.
Importantly, the integrated project management team is working concurrently on other aspects of the project targeting a final investment decision (FID) in the second half of 2022.
“Proven track record”
Arafura managing director Gavin Lockyer acknowledged Hatch, which completed the definitive feasibility study on the Nolans Project in 2019, as an internationally renowned project management, engineering and professional services consultancy.
Lockyer said: “The Arafura Board of Directors and our Management Team have great confidence in what the Hatch team can deliver for our shareholders.
“Hatch has a proven track record of delivering projects comprising complex metallurgical processing plants, across multiple commodities, and specifically unsurpassed hydrometallurgical process plant engineering design expertise.”
“This key project milestone and kick off on the final design of Nolans shows the Arafura team is on track with its strategy to bring the Nolans project into production.
“At the same time as the engineering works, we continue to progress advanced negotiations on senior debt facilities and offtake agreements which will support a final investment decision once the FEED process is complete in H2 2022.”
FEED phase of work
Arafura will see the front-end engineering design (FEED) works completed over the next nine months to advance engineering and equipment procurement.
Notably, the FEED phase of work will allow tendering on a fixed price basis to deliver project price and schedule certainty which will be the basis of making the final investment decision.
Hatch director of metals for Australia-Asia Claude D’Cruz said that Hatch was delighted to have been selected by Arafura to undertake engineering design for the hydrometallurgical plant associated with the Nolans Project.
D’Cruz adds: “The Nolans Project represents a very exciting and significant rare earths development opportunity for both Arafura and Australia as a nation.
“We look forward with great energy and excitement to helping Arafura make the project a success.”
Forward plan
In parallel, the integrated project management team, with KBR (NYSE:KBR) Pty Ltd and Wave International, will progress the remainder of the project as the company prepares for a Nolans FID with work including:
Incorporating best practice environmental, social and governance (ESG) measures to ensure ARU meets commitments to global customers;
Scoping the Beneficiation Plant and Sulphuric Acid Plant which will be tendered as fixed price Engineering, Procurement and Construction contracts concurrently with the hydrometallurgical plant construction tender;
Ensuring all early works construction is ready for tendering concurrently with the hydrometallurgical plant construction tender;
Completing detailed mine design for the initial mining period to allow for tendering of the contract mining services following FID; and
Updating the overall project control budget and schedule to reflect the final design and tender submissions and to support FID.
- Ephrems Joseph