Australian rare earth developer Lindian Resources has signed a technology and engineering services agreement, as well as a binding 10-year offtake agreement, with French rare earths processor Carester for output from its Summit Atom Rare Earth (Sareco) refinery in Stepnogorsk, Kazakhstan.
Under the technology agreement, Carester will complete a definitive feasibility study by December for an 8,000 t/yr rare earth oxide (REO) separation facility, to be co-located with Sareco, Lindian said on 3 September.
The 10-year offtake agreement will cover 70pc of samarium-europium-gadolinium mixed rare earth compounds and grant Carester a right of first refusal on 70pc of dysprosium- and terbium-rich mixed heavy rare earth carbonate (MHREC) from Sareco. The deal will have the option for two five-year extensions. Carester will ship the heavy rare earths products to its Caremag refinery in Lacq, France.
The agreement is part of Lindian's plans to process both light and heavy rare earths at Sareco. Lindian fully acquired Sareco in August from its previous owners, Kazakh state-owned uranium producer Kazatomprom and Japanese conglomerate Sumitomo, after buying a 51pc stake in March. It aims to recommission the refinery by October-December but has not specified a nameplate capacity for mixed rare earth carbonate (MREC) production.
Heavy rare earths
The agreement will help Lindian increase its exposure to heavy rare earths (HRE) terbium, dysprosium and yttrium, while diversifying the light rare earth (LRE) focused basket at its Kangankunde project in Malawi. Terbium oxide cif Europe prices have risen by 33pc to $5,300/kg since late February, while neodymium oxide cif Europe prices have fallen by 32pc to $121/kg in the same period (see graph).
But Lindian still needs to undertake testing to confirm whether Sareco's facilities are suitable for HRE processing.
Lindian will source HRE feedstock for Sareco from the Aktau stockpile, which belonged to Sareco's previous owners. The company has already secured 13,389t of feedstock under an access and option agreement, and has 12 months to exercise its option for a further 15,000-20,000t from the stockpile. The stockpile is already connected to Sareco by rail.
Light rare earths
Lindian already has a confirmed flowsheet for the sulphuric acid leaching of LRE at Sareco.
The company's fully-owned Kangankunde project in eastern Africa's Malawi is rich in neodymium and praseodymium (NdPr) and is set to begin production of 20,000 t/yr of 55.9pc total rare earth oxide (TREO) monazite concentrate in November. The company is undertaking a stage 2 feasibility study for the expansion of Kangankunde to 120,000 t/yr, which it expects to complete by December.
Lindian will send 12,500 t/yr of monazite concentrate from Kangankunde to Sareco for processing into 48.6pc purity MREC.
The company has also signed a 15-year offtake agreement for 6,000 t/yr of monazite concentrate to Australian rare earth producer Iluka Resources' planned Eneabba refinery, which is expected to produce 23,000 t/yr of separated REO by mid-2027.
Lindian in June cancelled a 2023 offtake agreement with US trading firm Gerald Metals.
