Northern Minerals: Mining Campaign for Three-Year Pilot Plant Project Completed on Time, on Budget and Greater Tonnes

Australian heavy rare earths developer, Northern Minerals (ASX: NTU) (the Company) is pleased to provide an update with regards to mining at the Browns Range Heavy Rare Earths Project in the East Kimberley, WA.
Mining of the Pilot Plant Project starter pits at Wolverine and Gambit West by MACA (ASX: MLD) has now been completed on time and on budget, with the successful six-month campaign providing sufficient ore for the three-year Pilot Plant Project.
It was originally planned that 180,000t of ore would be mined during this campaign, however optimised pit designs and scheduling allowed a further 25,000t1 of ore to be mined, bringing the total to 205,000t1 .
Northern Minerals’ Managing Director and CEO, George Bauk, commented:

“The completion of mining for the Browns Range Pilot Plant Project represents a major de-risking for the project. Having all the ore available on day one of processing means that the processing test work can be planned and assessed in a methodical way over the three-year project, rather than waiting on ore to be delivered.
With modular components and equipment starting to arrive on site, we are on track for first rare earth carbonate testing and production in Q3-2018.”

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