German state-owned development bank Kreditanstalt fur Wiederaufbau, operating on behalf of the German Raw Materials Fund, has signed an agreement with Australia's Arafura Rare Earths to invest €50mn ($58mn) in its Nolan Project, the mining company said on 4 April.
Government agency Export Finance Australia will invest $100mn, Arafura said. The investment will be made through Australia's $5bn Critical Minerals Facility.
The investments by the two government bodies will support the Nolan Project in Australia's Northern Territory. Arafura plans to produce 4,440 t/yr of NdPr oxide and 470 t/yr of mixed middle-heavy rare earth (SEG/HRE) oxide at the project, which will include both a mine and a processing plant.
Arafura is aiming to become Australia's first fully integrated ore-to-oxide rare earths operation.
The company already has a binding offtake agreement with Siemens Gamesa Renewable Energy to supply NdPr oxide from the Nolan Project for manufacturing permanent magnets for offshore wind turbines.
Arafura is seeking European offtake partners for another 500 t/yr of NdPr oxide.
