Australia’s American Rare Earths (ASX: ARR) published on Monday the results of a scoping study for its Halleck Creek project in Wyoming, United States, which confirms its potential to become a world-class rare earth element (REE) project.
The preliminary technical and economic study on the viability of the rare earths project is based on a scenario that includes developing an open pit mine, constructing a beneficiation facility onsite and a refinery offsite.
The report, compiled by independent firm Stantec Consulting Services, highlights a three million tonnes per annum (Mtpa) operating scenario.
Net present value (NPV) is pegged at $673.9 million at an 8% discount rate and $505.1 million at a 10% discount rate (pre-tax), yielding an Internal Rate of Return (IRR) of 22.5%.
The payback period is estimated at 2.9 years, with total initial capital expenditures (capex) of $456.1 million, including a $76 million contingency.
Rare earths, a group of 17 minerals critical to the energy transition for their use in electric car batteries and wind turbines, are also crucial to national security for use in aerospace and defence applications.
Wyoming has become one of the go-to places to explore for these materials fun hopes it could become America’s answer to China’s lock on the market. And the Halleck Creek project was named by Mining Intelligence last year as one the world’s top 10 rare earth projects, measured in total rare earth oxides (TREO).
On top of the scoping study for Halleck Creek released today, the company will also need to acquire the necessary licences to explore on Wyoming state mineral leases in order to collect rocks for bulk material testing and pilot-scale metallurgical test-work.
After that, American Rare Earths will prepare and implement a detailed baseline environmental plan and mining permit to mine on state mineral leases.
The only rare earth mine operating in the US – Mountain Pass in California – is partly owned by a Chinese state-backed company that currently sends material mined in the US to China for processing.
Source: MINING.COM – Read More
