Cadence Minerals PLC on Tuesday noted an announcement by Hasting Technology Metals Ltd, signalling progress on an agreement with Neo Performance Materials Inc.

Cadence is a London-based early stage investment and development company within the mineral resource sector. In January, it sold a 30% stake in several mining concessions within the Yangibana rare earths project for 2.5 million Hastings shares. This equated to a 1.9% stake in Sydney-listed Hastings.

Hastings and Neo Performance have signed a non-binding heads of agreement. This outlines a framework for negotiating a binding commercial offtake agreement for the supply of rare earth concentrate from stage one of the Yangibana project.

Yangibana covers 650 square kilometres in the Gascoyne region of Western Australia, and contains substantial neodymium and praseodymium resources. Both are materials used in magnets.

Under the terms of the agreement, Hastings will supply up to 25,000 tonnes per annum of concentrate from the first quarter of 2025 for Neo’s downstream processing facilities across Europe and Asia.

This would be followed by up to 10,000 tonnes per annum of mixed rare earth carbonate upon completion of Stage Two.

The offtake arrangement for concentrate from Yangibana would provide an additional source of feedstock for NPM Silmet OU, Neo’s rare earth separation facility in Sillamae, Estonia.

‘This agreement with Neo represents the first step in a strategic partnership that will establish Hastings as a reliable supplier of rare earth feedstock to the European permanent magnets industry, and further strengthens the staged development strategy for the Yangibana project, with a pathway to early project cashflows from stage-one concentrate sale,’ said Hastings Executive Chair Charles Lew.

Cadence Minerals shares were trading 2.1% higher at 8.57 pence each in London on Tuesday afternoon. Hastings shares closed down 3.6% at A$1.34 in Sydney.

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