Australian rare earth processing plant to be ready for use in 2026

A rare earth processing facility is under construction in Sydney.

A proposed Australian Rare Earths mining project in SA is to be the first to use it, but that project is yet to be approved.

What's next?

The Australian Nuclear Science and Technology Organisation says other rare earth companies will be able to use the facility as the nation works to boost its processing abilities.

A processing facility believed to be the first of its kind in Australia is expected to strengthen national rare earth mining capabilities.

Australia is the fourth-largest produce of rare earths in the world but the processing sector is dominated by China.


The Australian Nuclear Science Technology Organisation has been tasked with building a pilot facility to process clay-based rare earths.

The Australian Nuclear Science and Technology Organisation (ANSTO) is constructing the state-owned facility in Sydney, which will process clay-hosted rare earths.

It will be completed next year.

"Without the integrated supply chain, it's very hard to sidestep some of the strategic issues that are faced globally," ANSTO minerals division principal consultant Adrian Manis said.

    "With the move towards outside of China processing, you need to have the full supply chain built up."

Mr Manis added the government-owned plant would save companies millions of dollars and about six-months of development time.
A woman working with test tubes containing soils.

A researcher at ANSTO working with soils containing rare earths.
"To avoid those companies having to build their own pilot plant, which is bespoke every time [and] is going to take quite a bit of money, the idea is to have a facility available that they can come along and just start," he said.

   The processing site will be a common-use facility for rare earth companies, including Australian Rare Earths (AR3), who will be the first to use it for its proposed Koppamurra mining project in South Australia.

First supplier signed up

Based in the Wrattonbully region of South Australia, AR3 signed a deal with ANSTO to process the deposits of rare earths hosted in clay from the proposed Koppamurra project.

This makes it unique compared to other projects, which involve crushing and blasting rock.

This month, AR3 had the project's scoping study approved by the state's Department for Energy and Mining.

AR3 managing director Travis Beinke said the ANSTO deal was an opportunity to "de-risk" the project.

"It's designed to be a common-user facility for early stage projects like ours and it's designed to be able to help advance project's commercialisation," he said.


The rare earth deposits in SA's South East are based in clay. (Supplied: Australian Rare Earths)

    "Having the opportunity to utilise this facility continues to show the strong strategic importance of our Koppamurra rare earths project."