Offtake contract with rare earth producer Hastings extended, deliveries expected from 2025.
German materials trader Thyssenkrupp Materials Trading (TMT) and rare earth production specialist Hastings Technology Metals have extended their offtake contract (PDF). In April 2021 TMT was granted exclusive marketing rights for part of the raw materials to be sourced from Hastings’ Yangibana project in Western Australia. Now, the offtake volume has been increased to two-thirds of Yangibana’s annual production in the first five years. This is in line with the two-stage development strategy for the project, which envisages the first production of rare earth concentrates in the first half of 2025, Hastings writes. Supplies to Thyssenkrupp are also expected to begin from that date.
The update to the contract underscores the growing market demand for neodymium and praseodymium oxide, the Australian mining company said. The raw materials are primarily processed into permanent magnets for electric motors and wind turbines.
Hastings is investing in rare earth supply chains through a series of other agreements that do not involve China, which has dominated the mining and processing of these raw materials. In the future, Neo Performance Materials from Canada and Solvay, headquartered in Belgium, could process the critical minerals in Europe. As we reported, TMT, for its part, wants to supply raw materials to the future Canadian rare earth producer Ucore Rare Metals.
Photo: iStock/drduey
