Australian gold producer and rare earths developer Alkane Resources (ASX: ALK) is a step closer to developing its Dubbo project after Australia’s export credit agency (EFA), confirmed its interest in financing the proposed mine.
Dubbo, located in central New South Wales, is an advanced
polymetallic project with large in-ground resources of zirconium, hafnium,
niobium, yttrium and rare earths.
Due to the size of the resource, the mine is expected to process up to 1,000,000 tonnes of ore per year over a period of more than 75 years.
The proposed Dubbo polymetallic and rare earths mine is expected to process up to 1,000,000 tonnes of ore per year over a period of more than 75 years.
“After extensive engagement with the Australian government, particularly recently as part of its critical minerals initiative, it is pleasing to see that stated support is translating into preparedness for government agencies to act,” the company’s managing director, Nic Earner, said in a statement.
Alkane, through wholly-owned subsidiary Australian Strategic
Materials (ASM), has been trying for months to find potential strategic
investors, offtake parties and debt financiers, including government agencies.
“It is very clear in today’s world that security of supply
chains in all manner of materials is a pressing issue, and security of critical
minerals is one supply chain that the Australian Government is clearly
identifying as a priority for government backing,” ASM managing director, David
Woodall, noted.
The Dubbo project is development ready, subject to
financing, with the mineral deposit and surrounding land acquired, all major
State and Federal approvals in place and extensive piloting and engineering
completed.
It’s also seen is seen as a potential strategic and independent source of critical minerals outside China, home to at least 85% of the world’s capacity to process rare earth ores into material manufacturers can use in a range of technologies and future industries.
Last year, China produced about 120,000 tonnes of rare earths, while the totals of the next two leading producers — Australia and the US — were 20,000 and 15,000 respectively.