The Eneabba Mineral Separation Plant (MSP) By-Product Mineral Resource is located within the Perth Basin however the material is made up of mineral sands by-product from Iluka’s Narngulu MSP. Being a minerals sands stockpile there is no geological structure. The stockpile physically presents as a fine grained sand and is approximately 300m in length, 150 wide and varies from 1 to 15m in thickness. The fine grained, dark brown to black material is easily distinguishable from the yellow clayey sand it resides on.

A half to one meter cap of orange brown, gravelly, clayey sand covers the resource. A mixed zone of the by-product and capping immediately below the capping with high HM grade in combination with elevated slimes and oversize is recognised, being defined in the resource estimation and reporting.

The tailings material comprises a mixture of ilmenite, staurolite, aluminosilicates, zircon and the rare earth bearing mineral ‘monazite’, a naturally-occurring radioactive material (NORM).

The Eneabba mineral sands recovery project involves the extraction, processing and sale of a historical monazite-rich tailings stockpile that is currently stored in a mining void at Eneabba. Iluka has taken an incremental approach to Eneabba’s development comprising three key phases.

Phase 1 of the development commenced operating in 2020. This produced a mixed monazite-zircon concentrate, with the monazite fraction at approximately 20%

Phase 2 construction commenced in 2021 and is scheduled for commissioning by first half 2022. This will produce two separate concentrates: a zircon-ilmenite concentrate, to be further processed as part of Iluka’s traditional mineral sands operations at Narngulu; and a dedicated 90% monazite concentrate suitable as a direct feed to a rare earths refinery. The monazite concentrate could be sold or could form the basis of feedstock for Iluka’s own rare earth refinery.

Phase 3 involves the development of a fully integrated rare earths refinery at Eneabba. The refinery would have the capability to process feedstocks from within Iluka’s portfolio as well as concentrates supplied by third parties, producing separated rare earth oxides.

If it existed today, Eneabba Phase 3 would be the only operational refinery of its type in the Western world. Phase 3 presents an opportunity to establish a strategic processing hub for the further growth of Australia’s rare earths industry.

The mining will be camp ........

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