Lynas Rare Earths has been awarded a $20 million grant as part of the Federal Government’s Modern Manufacturing Initiative – Manufacturing Integration Stream.
The grant will contribute to developing a new capability to process apatite-rich ores from the Mt Weld ore body through a newly developed process containing two circuits for the removal of apatite.
Additionally, the grant will partially fund the Apatite Leach Circuit that will be established at the company’s Mt Weld site located near Laverton, Western Australia.
The Apatite Leach Circuit project will be undertaken as part of the Mt Weld expansion project which is scheduled for completion by end of the 2024 calendar year.
This process was developed in collaboration with the Australian Nuclear Science and Technology Organisation (ANSTO) and Mt Weld Mining, a wholly owned subsidiary of Lynas Rare Earths.
The Apatite Leach Circuit project is expected to create 90 jobs with partial help from the $20 million grant. 80 of these roles will be in construction and the remaining ten will be skilled full-time jobs once the project is operational.
Lynas Rare Earths will further engage with Australian universities to support ongoing process optimisation of the Apatite Leach Circuit, strengthen critical minerals capability, and up-skill science and engineering students as they prepare to enter the workforce.
The new circuits are expected to increase recoveries of Apatite-rich ores within the Mt Weld orebody, which are essential for technology that will fuel the global energy transition.
Lynas Rare Earths chief executive officer Amanda Lacaze said the company thanks the Australian Government for recognising the importance of the Apatite Leach Circuit project.
“It is very pleasing that this project will be undertaken in collaboration with ANSTO and with the involvement of students from Australian universities who are the future of the critical minerals industry,” Lacaze said.
“In addition to supporting the development of industry capability, the processing of apatite-rich ore will help to unlock additional value from the Mt Weld ore body with the goal of extending the operating life of the mine at Mt Weld and the processing facility in Kalgoorlie.”