"Hastings/Wyloo acquire a fully-permitted hydrometallurgical mixed rare earth chloride (“MREC”) production facility in Thailand, ... which is expected to accelerate their ability to process third-party monazite feedstock prior to development of the Yangibana Project."
"The announcement builds on the previously disclosed non-binding Heads of Agreement between Ucore and the Yangibana Joint Venture partners, under which the parties agreed to advance discussions toward a long-term supply arrangement of rare earth concentrate to Ucore’s developing Strategic Metals Complex (“SMC”) in Louisiana.
https://ucore.com/ucore-signs-heads...o-and-hastings-to-secure-yangibana-feedstock/
https://api.investi.com.au/api/announcements/has/30a30219-638.pdf
Hastings Technology Metals Ltd (ASX: HAS) announces the execution of a binding Term Sheet with Enuo Holdings which owns a fully-permitted hydrometallurgical Mixed Rare Earth Chloride (“MREC”) processing facility in Kabin Buri, Thailand.
The facility is a purpose-built hydrometallurgical plant designed to process rare earth concentrate feedstock and produce Mixed Rare Earth Chloride. MREC chloride is the preferred form for downstream rare earth separation. It dissolves more efficiently than carbonate equivalents, requires lower reagent consumption in the separation circuit, and produces a cleaner feed for oxide refining. Kabin Buri is 175km by road from Laem Chabang, one of Southeast Asia's largest container ports with direct shipping connections to Australia, China, Japan, Korea, Europe and the United States. This makes both inbound concentrate supply and outbound MREC distribution logistically straightforward.
Hastings Chief Executive Officer, Mr Vince Catania:
“This acquisition changes the trajectory for Hastings. By securing a ready to operate hydromet plant in Thailand, we gain a near-term production hub at a fraction of the cost of building new infrastructure in Australia and access to all necessary plant, equipment and operational infrastructure. With independent feedstock secured for commissioning, we can also work towards creating a simplified, lower cost processing option for Yangibana. We are now positioned to move faster, deploy capital more efficiently, and accelerate our entry into the global rare earth supply chain."
Production timeline:
• Q2–Q3 CY2026: Commissioning of the Thai Plant using African monazite concentrate feedstock supplied by Enuo.
• Q4 CY2026 (Stage 1): Targeting initial MREC production of approximately 5,000 tpa, w
• Full ramp-up: Target MREC production of 30,000 tpa from third party feedstock, including potentially Yangibana concentrate.
