Australia-based rare earth company Hastings Technology Metals has agreed to purchase a 30% stake in the Yangibana joint venture tenements for A$9m ($6.2m).
The interest is being acquired from Cadence Minerals and its subsidiary Mojito Resources.
Hastings will have a 100% stake across the complete Yangibana rare earth tenement package after the acquisition.
The binding agreement covers 2.34Mt of mineral resources. It also includes 0.73Mt of ore reserves, which is expected to instantly increase Yangibana’s mine life by nearly one year to a total of 16 years.
Hastings anticipates an opportunity to increase mineral resources from the two deposits of Yangibana and Yangibana North, four inferred deposits of Gossan, Hook, Lion’s Ear, and Kane’s Gossan, and from other exploration targets.
Hastings executive chairman Charles Lew said: “We are pleased to acquire the remaining joint venture working interest in the Yangibana rare earth project to take Hastings’s interest in the project to 100%.
“The acquisition provides Hastings with an immediate increase in ore reserves and life of mine by up to one year.
“Furthermore, it allows Hastings to perform mine project planning without the need to consider complex tenement boundary arrangements, consultation and potential issues with ore blending a JV material into the beneficiation plant.”
This February, Hastings received a $99.28m (A$140m) loan to build the Yangibana rare earth project, which is situated in Western Australia.
