Hastings Yangibana study confirms $649M WA rare earths prize

Hastings Technology Metals has infused fresh life into the rare earths story at its Yangibana project in Western Australia’s Gascoyne region, unveiling an updated definitive feasibility study (DFS) that points to a capital-light, de-risked pathway to stage one production.

The company says the study confirms a pre-tax net present value of $649 million, an ungeared pre-tax internal rate of return of 34 per cent for a payback of just 2.4 years from first production. The project’s stage one capex has been pegged at $333.4 million, with Hastings’ 40 per cent share of the Yangibana joint venture costed at $133 million.

Based on a nameplate plant capacity of 1.2 million tonnes per year, the 19-year mine life is fully backed by ore reserves of 20.93 million tonnes grading 0.90 per cent total rare earth oxides (TREO), with no inferred material included in the mine schedule.

Yangibana’s key lure remains its high-value neodymium-praseodymium content (NdPr), which represents 37 per cent of contained TREO in the reserves and is forecast to generate more than 90 per cent of project revenue.

Stage one will centre on conventional open-pit mining and whole-of-ore flotation to produce a rare earths concentrate, with peak annual concentrate output forecast to be 37,000 tonnes at a grade of 27 per cent TREO, for an average life-of-mine production of 31,570 tonnes a year.

Notably, Hastings says plenty of the heavy lifting has already been done. More than $160 million in infrastructure and long-lead equipment is already in place, including a 294-room accommodation village, 1800m airstrip, access roads, communications towers and water borefields.

The project is also fully permitted for immediate development, with first concentrate production estimated to kick off two years after the award of an engineering, procurement and construction contract, subject to final investment decision and funding.

Yangibana is held through an unincorporated joint venture between Wyloo Gascoyne, which manages the project and owns 60 per cent, and Hastings, which holds the remaining 40 per cent. Wyloo has begun the process of selling its interest after reporting strong interest from domestic and international parties.

This updated DFS confirms that (Yangibana) is one of the highest grade NdPr rare earths deposits in the world. Much of the heavy lifting is already done: the village, airstrip, access roads and borefields are in place, our Ore Reserve is fully supported by Proved and Probable classifications, and our mining and processing assumptions have been refreshed to reflect current conditions.

The DFS lands as Hastings builds a broader mine-to-market rare earths strategy. In March, the company picked up a 49 per cent interest in a permitted hydrometallurgical mixed rare earth chloride (MREC) plant in Thailand, which it says offers a near-term processing and cashflow pathway, independent of Yangibana.

Last month, Malaysian miner Malaco Mining also agreed to take a $1 million strategic placement in Hastings to support its own rare earths push across both Australia and Thailand.

With Western demand for non-China magnet rare earths supply across electric vehicles, wind turbines, robotics and defence systems building, the timing is significant.

Together, Hastings now has a much tighter and more transparent development plan, a high-grade NdPr orebody, almost all major infrastructure in place and a second processing string in Thailand - most of the ingredients it needs to turn its long-running rare earths development story into one of near-term production.

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