Yangibana

The Yangibana-REM joint venture rare earth project is located in the Gascoyne region, of Western Australia, 270 kilometres north east of Carnarvon, on Wanna Station. The joint venture comprises Hastings Technology Metals Limited (formerly Hastings Rare Metals), which holds a 70 percent interest in the project and REM (Rare Earth Minerals PLC) which has a 30 percent holding. The project is managed by Hastings Technology Metals Limited. REM acquired its shareholding in December, 2011,when it obtained the entire shareholding of Mojito Resources Limited from its parent company, Camelot Trust Corporation Limited.

Hastings Have a Large Tenement Package at the Yangibana Project Site

Hastings have a tenement package at Yangibana that covers an area of 650 square kilometres. The main target area at the Yangibana project includes the Yangibana South, Bald Hill and Fraser deposits which are all 100 percent owned by Hastings. The largest tenement Yangibana North, which has a TREO (total rare earth oxide) grade of 1.46 percent is owned by the joint venture partners, as are some smaller deposits.

Yangibana Rare Earth Resource Grew 230 Percent Over a Three Month Period

Hastings Technology Metals Limited have progressed the Yangibana project rather quickly and as a result had increased their maiden, August, 2014, Resource, by 230 percent by November the same year. A project scoping study was published in December, 2014, which indicated a before tax NPV (net present value) of between $900 million and $1.2 billion based on mining an open pit operation producing one million tonnes a year over a 15 year period. The scoping study was modelled on a Yangibana production level of around 2,700 tonnes a year of neodymium oxide, 750 tonnes annually of praseodymium oxide, 70 tonnes annually of europium oxide and 40 tonnes a year of dysprosium oxide. Drilling began on the project site in May 2015 and the project is presently being subjected to a Preliminary Economic Assessment (PEA). The level of neodymium oxide present in the total production is particularly noticeable, as it is an important element in the manufacturing of power and wind turbine permanent magnets, rechargeable consumer batteries and electronic components such as heat resistant ceramics.

Yangibana Could Host Even More Rare Earth Resources at Depth

The Yangibana rare earth project is host to extensive ferrocarbonatite/ironstone veins that were first evaluated in the 1980's and later by Hastings during 2014 and 2015. It is also believed the project could host even larger carbonatite hosted rare earth mineralisation at depth but this has not yet been assessed.

The Yangibana project has grown from being a brownfield exploration operation in 2014, based on data derived from drilling programs undertaken during the 1980's, to become an advanced exploration project in 2015, as a result of the advanced Pre-Feasibility Study. Planning is now well advanced in order to start the project's Bankable Feasibility Study in 2016.

As a result of the successful raising of sufficient capital in the latter half of 2014, the company was able to advance the Pre-Feasibility Study which consisted of a major drilling program focussed on the Yangibana West, Bald Hill South and Fraser deposits, this allowed an enhanced JORC resource estimate to be determined in September, 2015. Scout drilling was also undertaken at the same time at Terry's Find, Yangibana South and the Yangibana deposits which were all identified as potential for further resource growth, once additional drilling is completed.