AUSTRALIAN RARE EARTHS LIMITED Australian Rare Earths Limited announced the successful pilot scale production of a Mixed Rare Earth Carbonate (MREC) containing all the rare earths needed to produce rare earth permanent magnets; essential for increasing the efficient use of the power the world generates. As a first for an Australian ionic clay hosted rare earth resource, this achievement is being met with great interest by potential downstream customers, especially in light of an increasing awareness that the world currently lacks the sustainable diversity of rare earths supply required to meet the growing demand of a carbon-free global economy. Mixed Rare Earth Carbonate (MREC) has been successfully produced from ~800kg of Koppamurra bulk sample using existing equipment and simple processes operating at ambient temperature and pressure at ANSTO Minerals This is an important milestone for the Koppamurra Project and a key step in AR3's journey to becoming a producer of rare earth products Demand for MREC with low levels of impurities from sustainable resources from Tier 1 jurisdictions is strong The initial MREC is being used for marketing purposes, particularly in further developing an offtake relationship with Neo Performance Materials (`NEO') In consultation with NEO further process optimisation and impurity removal testwork is underway to enhance the initial product characteristics.
As the test work progresses it is leading to an increased understanding of the chemistry of rare earths recovery at Koppamurra, including improving rare earth recovery and the successful management of impurities in a MREC. Further work is planned.
