The Australian miner will work together with the Saskatchewan Research Council.
Australian rare earth mining company Arafura signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) with the Saskatchewan Research Council (SRC) to further refine rare earth material in Canada. Under the MoU (PDF), the SRC will refine a mixed middle-heavy rare earth concentrate from Arafura’s Nolans project in northern Australia into dysprosium and terbium oxides, important ingredients to enhance the performance of rare earth magnets.
At Nolans, Arafura plans to construct Australia’s first combined mine and processing plant for rare earths, predominantly for the two light rare earths neodymium and praseodymium. These two raw materials make up the largest share of ingredients in rare earth magnets besides iron. However, during the lengthy refining process, a mixed middle-heavy rare earth concentrate remains. Arafura highlighted that the mixture would have normally been shipped to China because of limited refining capabilities elsewhere. The global supply of heavy rare earths such as dysprosium and terbium mostly comes from refineries in China processing feedstock from neighboring Myanmar.
Arafura has already concluded purchase agreements for its products with the South Korean car manufacturers Hyundai and Kia, the U.S. conglomerate General Electric, and the Spanish-German wind energy company Siemens Gamesa.
Photo: ugurhan via Canva
