Hastings Technology Metals Ltd: DRA Pacific Awarded EPCM Contract Yangibana Processing Plant
- DRA Pacific Pty Ltd awarded the Engineering, Procurement and Contract Management (EPCM) Contract for the Yangibana Rare Earths Processing Plant.
- The scope of works under the DRA Pacific Pty Ltd EPCM agreement has an estimated capital value of circa A$350m.
- DRA Pacific's parent DRA Global Ltd have extensive experience in designing and building mineral processing facilities worldwide and their personnel have previously delivered rare earth plants in Western Australia.
- The key component of the contract terms is the comprehensive performance guarantee linked to ore throughput for the entire process flow sheet.
The appointment of DRA Pacific as the EPCM contractor for the Yangibana Project was preceded by a series of value engineering studies and the Front-End-Engineering-Design ("FEED") completed by DRA Pacific during 2018 and 2019. DRA Pacific's EPCM contract will cover all aspects of the design and construction of the processing facility and associated non-process infrastructure capable of producing 15,000 tonnes of Mixed Rare Earths Carbonate (MREC) per year.
The EPCM contract is the single largest dollar value contract associated with the Yangibana Project. Works directed under the EPCM Contract have an estimated value of approximately A$350M.
The key component of the contract terms is the comprehensive performance guarantee linked to ore throughput for the entire process flow sheet.
The appointment of DRA Pacific as the EPCM contractor for Hastings represents another critical milestone for the Project, reinforcing that Yangibana is execution ready.
Choosing DRA Pacific was the logical choice given the already close working relationship built up over the last 15 months, and the experience in rare earths processing plant design that DRA Pacific bring to the table.
Charles Lew, Hastings Executive Chairman, said "we are pleased to have DRA involved in the construction of the Yangibana processing plant. Their knowledge and experience in developing successful minerals processing projects makes them the ideal candidate to manage the construction of our project. The award of the EPCM contract moves the Yangibana Rare Earths Project firmly into development phase to commence project execution and progress to production of our mixed rare earth carbonate by 2022."
"Awarding the execution of this internationally important rare earths project on the Australian Continent to DRA is testament to DRA's position as the preferred technical partner for projects of this nature" said Chief Executive Officer of DRA Global, Andrew Naude. "DRA is honoured to have been selected by Hastings for the execution of the project. We have put together a very strong team for the delivery of the project and our Project Manager has significant experience in delivering successful projects."
The EPCM contract is a fundamental requirement of Hastings' debt providers and hence is pivotal to the project financing process.
About Hastings Technology Metals Ltd:
Hastings Technology Metals Ltd. (ASX:HAS) is a leading Australian rare earths company, with two rare earths projects hosting JORC-compliant resources in Western Australia.
- The Yangibana Project hosts Probable Reserves totaling 5.15 million tonnes at 1.12% TREO including 0.45% Nd2O3+Pr6O11 within JORC Resources totalling 21.0 million tonnes at 1.17% TREO (comprising Measured Resources of 3.9 million tonnes at 1.19% TREO, Indicated Resources of 8.6 million tonnes at 1.25% TREO and Inferred Resources of 8.4 million tonnes at 1.09% TREO), including 0.40% Nd2O3+Pr6O11.
- The Brockman deposit contains JORC Indicated and Inferred Resources totalling 41.4 million tonnes (comprising 32.3mt Indicated Resources and 9.1mt Inferred Resources) at 0.21% TREO, including 0.18% HREO, plus 0.36% Nb2O5 and 0.90% ZrO2.
- Rare earths are critical to a wide variety of current and new technologies, including smart phones, electric vehicles, wind turbines and energy efficient light bulbs.
- The Company aims to capitalise on the strong demand for rare earths permanent magnets created by expanding new technologies.
Source:
Hastings Technology Metals Ltd.
Contact:
Charles Lew Chairman T: +65-9790-9008 /+61-8-6117-6118 Valerie Quay Legal Counsel & Business Planning T: +65-9781-3220