Integrated rare earths mine in northern Australia receives government backing, including support from the German raw materials fund.
Arafura Rare Earths is making further progress on financing its Nolans rare earths project. The Australian company has now signed the final agreements for support worth approximately $145 million with the state-owned National Reconstruction Fund Corporation (PDF). The Nolans project is planned for the Northern Territory and is set to become Australia’s first facility to combine rare earth mining and downstream processing at a single site.
The commitment follows an agreement reached in January 2025. At that stage, only the key terms had been established; the final contracts have now been completed. The agreements also define the price at which the government support could later be converted into Arafura shares.
Combined with the binding commitments secured in April 2026 from the German raw materials fund and Export Finance Australia, the portion of financing already secured for Nolans has increased significantly. Arafura now states that the project has attracted around $659 million in equity and equity-like commitments.
However, several steps are still required before full financing can be achieved. In particular, the major project loan agreements still need to be finalized, shareholders must be engaged, and the conditions for a final investment decision must be met.
Photo: Gionixxx via Canva
