In yesterday’s market mayhem, another encouraging update by Lynas Rare Earths (ASX:LYC) on its reserves position went unnoticed.
But the bottom line is that the company said the size of its total mineral resource at its Mount Weld rare earths deposit near Laverton in Western Australia has increased by more than 40% in the past six years.
The company told the ASX that the mineral resource estimate (MRE) for Mount Weld now totals 106.6 million tonnes at an average grade of 4.12% total rare earth oxide (TREO). The update was delivered as part of the company’s presentation to the annual Diggers and Dealers shindig in Kalgoorlie, which started yesterday.
The 106.6 million tonnes contains a total of 4.39 million tonnes of TREO, a 46% increase compared to the previous MRE released in June 2018.
The MRE increase at Mount Weld follows 84,000 meters of drilling over the past six years, targeting rare earth element mineral resources surrounding the open-cut mine in the saprolite zone and to 200 meters below surface.
More importantly, Lynas also reported a 63% increase in ore reserves, which now total 32 million tonnes at 6.44% TREO. This also includes a 92% increase in contained dysprosium (Dy) oxide, with all heavy rare earth element grades, including terbium (Tb) oxide, mentioned in the company’s statement.
The ore reserves upgrade supports a mine life of over 20 years at a 12,000 tonnes per annum (tpa) production capacity of neodymium and praseodymium (NdPr) oxide finished product, aligning with the Mount Weld expansion currently under construction. It also supports a mine life of over 35 years at a 72,000 tpa NdPr oxide finished product production capacity.
“We are delighted to release the 2024 mineral resources and ore reserves statement, which demonstrates the remarkable advantages of Lynas’ Mount Weld deposit based on grades, total REO tonnage, NdPr content, and DyTb (dysprosium and terbium) content,” Lynas CEO Amanda Lacaze said in the statement to the ASX on Monday. “This updated statement provides a 20-year life of mine at a 12,000 tpa NdPr finished product production capacity, giving our customers confidence that we can meet their needs for responsibly produced rare earth materials today and tomorrow.”
Lacaze said the MRE and ore reserves upgrade demonstrates Lynas’ ability to improve orebody knowledge, ensure ore reserves, and continuously enhance reserve extraction efficiencies.
“Dy and Tb are essential for high-performance rare earth permanent magnets used in electric vehicles and are crucial for high-tech electronics,” Lacaze said. “The increase in reserves secures feed for the recently revealed DyTb separation circuit at Lynas Malaysia, enabling Lynas to serve existing customers and acquire new ones.”