Hastings Technology Metals and Andrew Forrest’s Wyloo have locked in a new joint venture (JV) to develop the Yangibana rare earths and niobium project in Western Australia.
Yangibana is a rare earths giant nestled in the Gascoyne region that boasts a 20.9 million tonne (Mt) ore reserve.
Once up and running Yangibana is tipped to produce over 37,000 tonnes of rare earth concentrates a year over its 17 year mine life.
Wyloo has signed on for a 60 per cent stake in the project, leaving Hastings holding the remaining 40 per cent.
It’s not Wyloo’s first look-in for the project, having dished out $200 million loan to back the project’s development in 2022. Under the terms of the new agreement, Wyloo will wipe $115 million of that loan.
The remaining 85 million has also been taken off the books after Hastings transferred an equivalent 19.99 per cent stake in Canadian industrial magnet maker Neo Performance Materials to Wyloo.
“This is an exciting time to be a major JV partner in a multi-decade critical minerals project such as Yangibana,” Wyloo chief executive officer Luca Giacovazzi said.
“Yangibana is one of the most advanced rare earths projects in Australia and will become a globally significant source of NdPr (neodymium and praseodymium), a critical component in the manufacture of permanent magnets, as well as a producer of Niobium and other by-products critical to the energy transition.”
By the end of December 2024, Hastings has invested $158 million in supporting infrastructure at Yangibana including a 294-room accommodation village, a 2km airstrip to facilitate landing of up to 70-seater aircrafts and 20km of site access road.
Neodymium and praseodymium are key ingredients in ultra-strong permanent magnets essential for rare earths for green technologies like wind turbines and electric vehicles, which are set to become exponentially more prevalent in the coming years.
This is expected to see the demand for rare earths skyrocket, putting Wyloo, and Andrew Forrest, in a prime position to expand the company’s green metals foothold, gelling with its hard-line ‘real-zero’ goals.
Forrest has been vocal in his support for green technologies, especially the decarbonisation of global shipping through green hydrogen and ammonia.
“The greatest greenwash is that climate change is the fault of the individuals,” Forrest previously said.
“It’s people like me – heavy industrial emitters. We have an obligation and responsibility, to save this planet. I want you to hold me to account.”
Hastings executive chair Charles Lew said this next stage of Yangibana will usher in a new era for the company and the Gascoyne region, and the greater state of rare earths play.
“The joint venture arrangement is the result of what has been ongoing, positive discussions between Hastings and Wyloo regarding the exchangeable notes and a mutually beneficial way to proceed with the development of the Yangibana project, within which significant value will be realised,” he said.
“Partnering with Wyloo brings incremental technical expertise and strong financial backing to our project, which is already one-third completed.”
All going to plan, Yangibana is expected to come online in the second quarter of 2025.
