Source:Proactive Investors Australia
Peak Resources Ltd (ASX:PEK) securities have gained 6% after the company revealed it was making “good progress” towards the development of its 75%-owned Ngualla Rare Earth Project in Tanzania.
The company said it had received all the permitting and planning permissions it needed for its Teesside rare earth refinery in the UK, which is near a deepwater port.
A British refinery
Australian-headquartered Peak picked up an environmental permit for the company’s planned rare earth separation refinery from the United Kingdom’s Environment Agency — part of the government's Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs — last month in September 2018.
Planning permission for the refinery in the northeast of England near Middlesbrough was already received in May 2018.
Neither application was objected to, with the company saying: “The granting of the permit further reinforces the company’s decision to construct the refinery in the UK with its stable and mature regulatory frameworks.”
The company highlighted the benefits of its project and refinery on a global scale.
Peak said: “The Teesside refinery is a key differentiator between Peak and other rare earth development companies as Peak is the only current developer who will be able to produce saleable rare earth oxide products in-house, which will enable the company to sell its products directly to end users and manufacturers.
“The plant will also significantly add value to the project as the separated rare earths will command a higher price than a less refined concentrate or a mixed carbonate.”
In early July 2018, Peak secured a two-year option for a 250-year lease on a 19-hectare land parcel in Teesside for the refinery.
The agreement for the option over the Wilton International site in the Tees Valley industrial area also includes an ability for Peak to extend the option a further 12 months.
Wilton has plug-and-play services such as competitively-priced power and is located near the UK’s third-largest deepwater port, where Peak plans to ship in rare earths.
Peak believes the large site leaves it room for expansion, with space for doubled production, metal-making facilities and acid-making plants.
Tanzanian rare earth assets
Peak learned last month the Dodoma-based Tanzanian Mining Commission had recommended to its Minerals Minister the company be granted a mining licence for the Ngualla Rare Earth Project.
A mining commission sub-body has also approved the project’s short-term and long-term plans which include sourcing Tanzanian goods and services, and employing and training Tanzanian citizens.
During the September quarter, the company kept its site open, undertaking maintenance operations both there and at its airstrip.
Staffing levels have been reduced as it awaits a mine licence, while it continues to serve the community as a good corporate citizen.
Among the company’s activities was to construct two classrooms and teacher's office at Itiziro Primary School, with construction expected to be complete in November 2018, before the school closes for wet season.
Peak securities closed up 0.2 cents, or 5.88%, to 3.6 cents today.