Company Interview / Rare earth riches: ABx moves beyond bauxite

Key points:

ABx Group shifts focus from bauxite to rare earths, targeting rapid project developmentTasmania project boasts 89 million tonne resource with promising metallurgical propertiesTesting overseen by ANSTO confirms exceptional extraction resultsStrong ties with international customers and ongoing bauxite and clean chemical initiatives

Mark Cooksey of ABx Group (ASX: ABX) highlights a strategic shift from bauxite mining towards rare earths exploration as global demand escalates and a move to diversify supply chains away from China gains momentum. Cooksey states that ABx Group’s Tasmania project contains an 89 million tonne resource, sufficient for commercialisation, and is uniquely advantageous due to its metallurgical properties. These enable extraction of rare earths, especially dysprosium and terbium, at potentially low costs, both key ingredients for high-performance magnets used in electric vehicles and wind turbines.

Cooksey explains that the project’s extraction results, corroborated by testing conducted by the Australian Nuclear Science and Technology Organisation (ANSTO), returned highly credible and even superior outcomes compared to ABx Group’s in-house trials. Cooksey emphasises the reliability of ANSTO’s methods, also adopted by other industry players, as a crucial element in validating the project’s prospects.

Looking ahead, Cooksey outlines that next steps include project design, mining method selection, and expanding customer relationships, noting progress with companies in the UK and a Canadian firm developing a US separation plant. Cooksey adds that bauxite mining continues with plans to resume operations on a significant deposit in the coming year, complemented by efforts in clean fluorine chemical production sourced from aluminium waste.