Astron terminates workflows before delivering Donald DFS

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Astron Corporation is on track to deliver ore reserves for mineral sands and rare earth projects this quarter.

Astron Corporation (ASX: ATR) has had a busy quarter as it aims to complete all work streams contributing to a definitive feasibility study (DFS) for its Donald rare earths and mineral sands project in Victoria.

In its December quarterly report released today, the company confirmed an updated phase one project ore reserve for the Donald mining license area will be completed this quarter, following the conclusion of the current phase of a revised mining study.

This mining study will include last months updated mineral resource estimate of 525 million tonnes at 4% total heavy minerals, which saw a 25% increase in in-situ heavy ore to 21Mt, a 60% growth in in-situ rare earth minerals to 511,000 t and a 5% increase in in-situ zircon resources to 3.4Mt.

An initial route for the 66kV overhead powerline from Horsham sub-station to the mine site has been selected with detailed design to begin this quarter.

Other work streams include final designs of process plant and tailings handling facilities, and basic design of key infrastructure including water pipeline, worker housing village and road upgrades .

Mineral Technologies has begun DFS-level engineering for the Donald process plant with work expected to conclude this quarter. Capital and operating cost estimates will be included in the DFS.

Regulatory approvals

The Victorian Work Plan is the main regulatory approval remaining for the Donald project, which Astron expects to submit to Victorian government authorities in mid-2023.

An economic impact assessment (EIA) of phase one of the project was conducted by Deloitte Access Economics last quarter, concluding that this initial phase offers significant benefits at the project and state level and presents a clear opportunity to build Australia’s capability in rare earths and critical. minerals consistent with Australias Critical Minerals Strategy.

The EIA shows that the project is expected to contribute $2.2 billion to the gross regional product within the local area and create an average annual 536 fulltime equivalent employment opportunities.

Potential offtake deals

Astron said contact with potential customers for offtake arrangements is ongoing.

The company confirmed today that it is in talks with several parties regarding the offtake of its heavy minerals concentrate (HMC) and rare earth elements concentrate (REEC) products and plans to execute several agreements in the third quarter of 2023.

The first phase of the Donald project includes an estimated average ore throughput of 7.5 million tonnes per annum to produce approximately 250,000-300,000tpa of HMC and 8,000-9,000tpa of REEC.

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