Energy Fuels, a US-based uranium and rare earth elements (REEs) producer, has announced the final major regulatory approval for the Donald Rare Earth and Mineral Sand Project in Victoria, Australia.
This approval from the Government of Victoria allows the project to proceed with financing arrangements before a final investment decision (FID).
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The Donald Project is a joint venture between Energy Fuels and Australia-based Astron, where Energy Fuels can invest A$183m ($119m) plus $17.5m in common shares to earn up to a 49% interest in the project.
The project is set to provide Energy Fuels with a long-term supply of monazite and xenotime-bearing REE mineral concentrate (REEC), which will be processed in the US at the company’s White Mesa Mill in Utah.
Expected to commence production as early as 2026, the project will supply Energy Fuels with 7,000–8,000 tonnes per annum (tpa) of REEC in phase one. This will include significant quantities of neodymium-praseodymium (NdPr), terbium and dysprosium oxides.
The phase two expansion will further increase production to approximately 13,000–14,000tpa of REEC.
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By GlobalDataEnergy Fuels president and CEO Mark S. Chalmers said: “The work plan approval for the Donald Project is significant as it moves us one step closer to creating an important link between the United States and Australia on rare earths and critical minerals.
“We believe the Donald Project is exceptional, as it contains large quantities of the ‘light’, ‘mid’ and ‘heavy’ rare earth oxides needed for a variety of commercial, clean energy and defence technologies. Energy Fuels plans to import the rare earth minerals from the Donald Project into the USA, where we will process them into separated oxides at our mill in Utah for domestic and other customers.”
Energy Fuels anticipates finishing the second phase of its mill expansion, which will have the capacity to process approximately 60,000 tonnes (t) of REEC into an estimated 6,000t of isolated NdPr.
Consequently, the estimated 13,000–14,000t of REEC from the Donald Project could utilise around 22–23% of the total processing capability of the expanded mill.
Energy Fuels and Astron will distribute profits from the joint venture proportionally to their ownership interests.
The project’s approval could lead to construction beginning shortly after a positive FID, which could be made by the end of 2025.
Additionally, Energy Fuels has formed a strategic collaboration with Chemours Company to strengthen the supply chains of REEs and critical minerals within the US.
This alliance aims to capitalise on the synergistic operational and geographic advantages of the two companies to address the growing need for such materials.
