Arafura Resources Ltd. said Sept. 24 that it has signed an additional memorandum of understanding with permanent magnets manufacturer Baotou Tianhe Magnetics Technology Co., Ltd. for the supply of rare earth products from Arafura's Nolans neodymium-praseodymium, or NdPr, project in the Northern Territory, Australia.
The nonbinding agreement provides a framework for negotiating a final off-take agreement for the sale of up to 900 tonnes per annum of NdPr oxide, and also contemplates Tianhe Magnetics working with Arafura to develop further opportunities for long-term offtake of NdPr oxide or metal with third-party end users.
The agreement allows for the long term sale of NdPr oxide from Nolans as Arafura plans to produce an average of 4,357 tonnes of NdPr oxide per annum for the 23-year operational life of the project.
In July, the company said that it has started development activities at its Nolans project and will target a late-2020 start of early works construction. Arafura entered the first NdPr oxide off-take deal for Nolans in October 2018.
