Long-term Working Relationship With German Automotive Supplier
Rare earths specialist Hastings Technology Metals Ltd (ASX:HAS) has entered into binding Master Agreement (MA) with one of the leading German automotive Tier 1 supplier, Schaeffler Technologies AG for the targeted supply of its mixed rare earth carbonate (MREC).
The product will be mined and processed from the Hastings’ Yangibana Project in the Gascoyne region of Western Australia.
Hastings Executive Chairman, Charles Lew, said this Master Agreement governs in general the purchasing, scheduling, quality compliance and regulations, and ethical business conduct between Hastings and Schaeffler.
Mr Lew said that with the signing of this Master Agreement, Schaeffler also continues to support Hastings in its eligibility for the German government’s untied loan guarantee scheme (known as UFK) in its project financing for the construction of its mine and processing plant in the Upper Gascoyne of Western Australia.
Since the announcement of an MOU in June 2019, Schaeffler and Hastings have expressed their joint commitment to work together on a long-term partnership to enable Schaeffler to develop an independent supply chain for its e-motor business for the emerging Electric Vehicle industry.
Neodymium and praseodymium are critical raw materials used in the manufacture of permanent magnets, the key component found in electric motors.
Schaeffler is a global automotive and industrial supplier of high-precision components and systems in engine, transmission, and chassis applications, as well as rolling and plain bearing solutions for a large number of industrial applications, primarily focussed on the automotive industry.
In 2019 it generated sales of approximately €14.4 billion with around 87,700 employees globally.
Schaeffler is one of the world’s largest family companies operating in approximately 170 locations in over 50 countries and has a worldwide network of manufacturing locations, research and development facilities and sales offices.
“This contract represents a very important milestone in the development of Hastings as an emerging supplier of rare earth carbonate from Australia to Germany, an industrialised nation with a growing demand for a critical raw material used in many advanced technologies where a permanent magnet is needed. We look forward to strengthening our cooperation with Schaeffler in the years to come.”
Hastings Technology Metals Limited is advancing its Yangibana Rare Earths towards production. The proposed beneficiation and hydro metallurgy processing plant will treat rare earths deposits, predominantly monazite, hosting high neodymium and praseodymium contents to produce a mixed rare earths carbonate that will be further refined into individual rare earth oxides at processing plants overseas. Neodymium and praseodymium are vital components in the manufacture of permanent magnets which is used in a wide and expanding range of advanced and high-tech products including electric vehicles, wind turbines, robotics, medical applications and others. Hastings aims to become the next significant producer of neodymium and praseodymium outside of China.
