The Australian company’s Nolans project aims to be the country’s first ore-to-oxide mine and processing facility.
The Australian rare earth exploration and mining company Arafura has secured a total of $533 million in funding from the Australian Government for its Nolans project in central Australia, according to a company statement. With the financial support, Arafura and the Government aim to catalyze the venture and clear funding and debt requirements. With Nolans, Arafura aims to construct Australia’s first combined rare earth ore-to-oxide mine and processing facility. The project will produce neodymium-praseodymium oxides in its facilities. These oxides are used to manufacture permanent magnets, which are employed in electric vehicle motors and wind turbines, for example. Currently, most rare earth raw materials extracted in Australia are shipped abroad to be refined. Fellow Australian rare earth miner Lynas has been shipping its raw material to Malaysia, for example, but has recently commissioned a domestic processing facility in Australia’s south-west.
Arafura emphasized that Nolans will bolster the country’s critical minerals supply chains, aligning with Australia’s Critical Minerals Strategy, which was unveiled last year. Offtake agreements for the rare earths produced in Nolans have already been concluded with South Korean carmakers Hyundai and Kia and Spanish-German wind energy company Siemens Gamesa.
Photo: iStock/ buranatrakul
