London, April 7 (Argus) - On April 4, Australian mining company Arafura Rare Earths announced that the German state-owned development bank Kreditanstalt fur Wiederaufbau, which operates on behalf of the German raw materials fund, has signed an agreement with the company to invest 50 million euros (equivalent to 58 million US dollars) in its Nolan project.
Arafura said that the government agency Ausenco Finance Corporation will invest 100 million US dollars to invest in Australia's key mineral facilities worth 5 billion US dollars.
The investments from these two government agencies will support the Nolan project in the Northern Territory of Australia. Arafura plans to produce 4,440 tons/year of praseodymium-neodymium oxide and 470 tons/year of mixed heavy rare earth oxide at the project, which will include a mine and a processing plant.
Arafura aims to become the first fully integrated ore-oxide rare earth enterprise in Australia.
The company has already signed a binding purchase agreement with Siemens Gamesa Renewable Energy to supply the rare earth oxides produced from the Nolan project to neodymium-iron-boron magnetic materials for use in manufacturing permanent magnets for offshore wind turbines.
Arafura is seeking European purchasing partners to purchase an additional 500 tons/year of praseodymium-neodymium oxide.
