Cummins Range Project Product Strategy Update
Released
Released
Announcement PDF
ASX Release
12 October 2023
Cummins Range Project – Product Strategy Update
Unique, strategic product offering from Cummins Range presents offtake opportunities for both EV
magnet and LFP battery applications.
HIGHLIGHTS
•
Primary Phosphate-Rare Earth (Phos-RE) mineral concentrate product from Cummins Range shows
strong potential to produce high-purity phosphoric acid suitable for lithium-ferro-phosphate (LFP)
battery application.
•
Simple dilute phosphoric acid process proposed for treating the Cummins Range Phos-RE product,
delivering strong apatite (phosphate) extraction while maintaining the RE values within the leach residue.
•
The low-impurity apatite at Cummins Range is expected to require fewer purification steps to process the
acid leach liquor into high-purity phosphoric acid.
•
Dilute acid leach step proposed to be undertaken at offtaker(s) facility, with product sample generation
underway to support offtake discussions.
•
RE beneficiation tests underway at Baotou Mengrong Fine Materials (BTMR) to inform the RE residue
purification performance with results imminent.
RareX Limited (ASX: REE – RareX or the Company) is pleased to provide a product strategy update for its 100%owned Cummins Range Rare Earths and Phosphate Project (the Project, Cummins Range), located in the
Kimberley region of Western Australia, which supports the production of rare earths for magnet motors and
generators and high-purity phosphoric acid suitable for use in lithium-iron-phosphate (LFP) battery applications.
RareX CEO, James Durrant, said: “Our main product from Cummins Range is a unique dual-mineral concentrate that
contains both LFP-suitable phosphate and EV magnet-suitable rare earths. The phosphate within apatite and the
rare earths within monazite means we can maximise the extraction of both of these highly strategic elements. We
believe this is a unique product offering, with the opportunity to supply 12ktpa of rare earth oxides and 169ktpa of
battery-grade phosphate to an automotive manufacturer for at least 15 years as described in our scoping study 1.
With 25kg of P2O5 and 1kg of NdPr oxide required for each LFP-powered electric vehicle, Cummins Range has the
potential to supply over 2.5 million EVs every year over its initial 15–year mine life.”
RareX Phos-RE Concentrate Product Strategy
Following the positive dilute phosphoric acid leaching testwork results 2 that showed high apatite dissolution and
low impurity dissolutions, RareX has conducted further assessments on the suitability of processing the high-
1 ASX announcement 22 August 2023: Enhanced Scoping Study for Cummins Range
2 ASX announcement 11 July 2023: Phosphoric Acid Leach Test Supports RareX Stage-3 Opera�ons
For more information,
please contact:
Investors: James Durrant, CEO
Media: Nicholas Read, Read Corporate
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ABN: 65 105 578 756
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purity leach liquor from Cummins Range into high-purity phosphoric acid and potential methods to further
upgrade the leach residue into more valuable RE concentrate.
Based on the assessments and market feedback, the dilute leach liquor from Cummins Range is considered
“pure” given its low gangue element concentrations when compared with leach liquor generated from
sedimentary rocks. This is due to the following characteristics of the Cummins Range deposit:
Igneous deposit which is naturally lower in deleterious elements and heavy metals when compared with
sedimentary deposits.
Mineral concentrate produced is rich in premium-quality apatite, which is highly available and low in
deleterious elements.
Minimal RE is contained within the apatite, allowing easy separation of monazite and apatite and minimal
RE loss to solution using dilute phosphoric acid leach.
Phosphoric acid is mostly produced via the wet process, which uses concentrated sulphuric acid to react with
finely-ground rock phosphate to maximise apatite dissolution. The rock phosphate feedstock must contain low
impurities in order for the process to be technically and economically viable for processing into merchant-grade
(MGA) or technical-grade phosphoric acid. Typically, a significant amount of further purification is required on
this production method.
Unlike the conventional wet process, RareX is proposing a simple dilute phosphoric acid leach and flotation
process for the Cummins Range Phos-RE concentrate (as shown in the figure). This process is expected to
require significantly less purification to reach LFP grade, whilst also liberating the rare earths for further
upgrading into a high-grade RE concentrate.
RareX envisages that the proposed product treatment process would be undertaken at an offtaker/s existing
plant and aims to maximise the phosphate and rare earths values through the following steps:
1. Apatite Leach - Taking a bleed of the dilute phosphoric acid that is already being produced in the wet acid
plant to treat the Cummins Range Phos-RE concentrate. As demonstrated by the recent positive
testwork2, 3, 4, the apatite within the Cummins Range concentrate is pure and highly available.
2. Acid Production, Concentration and Purification - The leach liquor can be fed into the existing phosphoric
acid generation, concentration and purification circuits to process to LFP requirements with likely fewer
purification steps and less reagent demand.
3. RE Beneficiation - The rare earths will remain in the leach residue at elevated grade2 during the gangue
leach process. This residue can be enriched with a simple flotation process to produce a monazite
refinery feedstock. This could be undertaken in the same facility, or at a collaborator’s facility where
monazite beneficiation is already occurring.
3 ASX announcement 08 June 2023: Bioavailability Tests Confirm Poten�al of Cummins Range
4 ASX announcement 23 March 2023: Phosphate Testwork Confirms Poten�al to Produce Fer�liser
RareX Limited
ASX:REE
ABN: 65 105 578 756
RareX HQ
Level 1, 338 Barker Road
Subiaco WA 6008
Australia
P +61 (0) 8 6383 6593
E info@rarex.com.au
ree.investorhub.com/welcome
rarex.com.au
RareX Limited (ASX:REE)
@rarex_asx
Figure 1. Proposed a simple dilute phosphoric acid leach and flotation process for the Cummins Range Phos-RE concentrate
RareX is working closely with laboratories to generate mineral concentrate samples and product derivatives
(leach liquor and RE residue) to allow RareX to advance offtake discussions and refine process design criteria.
Product and derivative samples are expected to be available within two months.
In addition, RareX has been testing monazite beneficiation at BTMR laboratory. This testwork is being undertaken
on “raw” ore feed (not the leach residue outlined above), however, the results will provide valuable data to support
the design of the RE beneficiation process for the leach residue.
This announcement has been authorised for release by the Board of RareX Limited.
RareX Limited
ASX:REE
ABN: 65 105 578 756
RareX HQ
Level 1, 338 Barker Road
Subiaco WA 6008
Australia
P +61 (0) 8 6383 6593
E info@rarex.com.au
ree.investorhub.com/welcome
rarex.com.au
RareX Limited (ASX:REE)
@rarex_asx
About RareX Limited – ASX: REE
RareX Limited (ASX: REE), a Perth based project development and exploration Company, was founded on the
fundamental belief of the electronics revolution and the electric vehicle mega-trend. Our focus is rare earths
and associated battery and electronic metals.
Cummins Range, in the East Kimberley region of Western Australia, is our flagship project which aims to
produce a sustainable, ethical, transparent and secure low carbon rare earth and phosphate supply chain
solution for its products which satisfy the two global mega-trends of population growth and electrification.
RareX maintains exploration upside programs in the immediate vicinity of the Cummins Range Project and also
more broadly to identify targets and progress projects complementary to the founding beliefs and expertise of
the core team.
Rare earths and in particular, NdPr, are core enablers of decarbonisation and electrification of our society. NdPr
supports high strength magnets which enables low carbon technologies, especially in the electric mobility
sector, robotics solutions and renewable energy, particularly the wind energy sector.
Phosphate is the feedstock for the emerging dominant battery technology; lithium-ferro-phosphate (LFP). The
global LFP battery market is projected to grow from $10 billion in 2021 to $50 billion by 2028 as more EVs
adopt the safer and longer life technology and grid stabilization batteries expand to balance intermittent
renewable generation.
RareX maintains material investments in Kincora Copper (ASX:KCC), Cosmos Exploration (ASX:C1X) and
Canada Rare Earth Corporation (LL.V).
For further information on the Company and its projects visit www.rarex.com.au
RareX Limited
ASX:REE
ABN: 65 105 578 756
RareX HQ
Level 1, 338 Barker Road
Subiaco WA 6008
Australia
P +61 (0) 863 836 593
E info@rarex.com.au
W ree.investorhub.com/welcome
rarex.com.au
RareX Limited (ASX:REE)
@rarex_asx
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