Lynas ups rare earths resource estimate
Lynas ups rare earths resource estimate September 6, 2010
Shares in Lynas Corporation Ltd jumped after the rare earths mine developer announced a substantial increase in the mineral resource estimate for its Mount Weld project near Laverton in Western Australia.
Lynas shares were up 9.5 cents, or 8.84 per cent, at $1.17 at 1207 AEST after almost 14 million shares in the company changed hands.
The Sydney-based firm said the combined rare earths mineral resource estimate for Mount Weld had increased to 17.49 million tonnes at 8.1 per cent rare earths oxides (REO), giving it a new resource of 1.416 million tonnes of REO, a 19.4 per cent increase in contained REO.
The increase was attributed to the Duncan deposit, while the Central Lanthanide deposit remains essentially unchanged, Lynas said in a statement on Monday.
The average depth of the resource at the Duncan deposit was about 35 metres below the surface, which would allow an open-pit approach to mining, the company said. It said further resource drilling at the Central Lanthanide deposit was expected to result in an expansion of the mine plan and pit design. Lynas in April ended a nine-month suspension of work at Mount Weld, which had been implemented due to uncertainty surrounding financing of the project. The company is constructing a concentration plant in WA and a $339 million advanced materials plant in Malaysia. Lynas expects to commence production in the third quarter of 2011.
Lynas in July said Australian rare earths companies were well placed to capitalise on a shortfall in supply expected to arise from China's tightening of export quotas for the valuable minerals, which it considers strategic assets. China supplies more than 90 per cent of the world's rare earths, which are in demand for their use in mobile phones, car engines, batteries and glass manufacturing.