Astron Corp edges closer to final investment decision on mineral sands-rare earths project in Victoria

A final investment decision for the largest undeveloped zircon resource in the world, plus the fifth largest rare earth resource outside of China, is getting closer as Astron Corporation (ASX: ATR) has, after initial soundings on project debt, demonstrated significant interest from senior lenders.

The company has reported talks with potential lenders over the past few months.

Meanwhile, the company says that its mineral separation plant in Liaoning, China, has secured several independent feedstock sources after output in the June quarter was curtailed due to a lack of ore supply.

Production from these new sources is expected to begin in the current quarter following the installation at the Yinkou plant of new separation spirals.

First mining phase will target less than one-fifth of resource

Donald, with its 2.6 billion tonnes of ore, is located 15 kilometers east of Minyip in Victoria’s Wimmera region. It was discovered by CRA Exploration, a forerunner of Rio Tinto (ASX: RIO), in the 1980s, and Astron acquired the project in 2004.

Astron continues to focus on Phase 1 at Donald, which will access 17% of the project’s total resources. A definitive feasibility study for Phase 1 demonstrated an after-tax net present value for Phase 1 of $852 million over a 41.4-year mine life.

The quarter saw Astron make progress in offtake negotiations, project approvals, and project financing.

Globally significant producer

The company describes Donald as a globally significant, long-life supplier of critical rare earth elements (REE) including neodymium, praseodymium, dysprosium and terbium — the key battery REE — as well as zirconium, hafnium, and titanium.

The deposit contains more than 2.6 billion tonnes at 4.4% heavy minerals and consists of two deposits, Donald and Jackson. Astron has also recently announced a preliminary feasibility study for a combined Phases 1 and 2, which enlarges the operation to accessing 43% of the Donald resource. The resulting NPV, spread over 58 years of mining, totals $1.4 billion.

Astron has also renewed, for another five years, its mining licence for the Niaferang mineral sands project in Senegal.