Flyer providing description on the processing of Rare Earths at the Concentration Plant at Mt Weld, Australia before it is further refined at the Lynas Advanced Processing Plant at Kuantan, Malaysia.

1. ConCentration
plant
Lynas owns the richest known
deposit of Rare Earths in
the world at Mount Weld,
35km south of Laverton,
Western Australia.
Lynas Corporation’s Concentration Plant is the first crucial step
in processing Rare Earths.
The Concentration Plant is located approximately 2km from the Mount Weld mine,
35km south of Laverton, Western Australia. The plant is an essential part of Lynas’
commitment to leading the growth of the global Rare Earths industry by creating
a reliable, fully integrated source of supply from mine through to a diverse set
of customers.
The ore at Mount Weld, the richest known deposit of Rare Earths in the world,
is mined by open pit methods, crushed, stockpiled and concentrated by flotation
in the Concentration Plant to produce a Rare Earths concentrate for export.
Lynas have taken a best practice philosophy when designing the Concentration Plant.
The concentrate is placed in two tonne bulker bags and then loaded into sea
containers at site. The containers are trucked to the Western Australian Port of
Fremantle. At the port the containers are transferred to ships for sea freight to the
Port of Kuantan in Pahang, Malaysia, where it will be further refined at the Lynas
Advanced Materials Plant (LAMP) to produce our final products.

2. GeoloGy MininG and StoCkpilinG The mineralised froth that to a storage tank prior to
The Mount Weld Rare Earths Phase 1 of the mining campaign overflows from the top of the next stage. The pulp is
deposit sits in a two billion year was completed in August 2008. the flotation cell can then be thickened to 50% solids, and
old volcanic plug. It is estimated 409,204 tonnes of CZ material collected. Likewise, certain water overflows from the top of
that approximately 1.8km of assaying an average 18% Total chemicals can be added the thickener and is recovered.
the volcanic plug has been Lanthanide Oxide (TLnO) was to the pulp to target the
The second stage of dewatering
weathered during this time to stockpiled into low, medium non-Rare Earth minerals to
is called Pressure Filtration
form a high grade supergene and high grade material. The make them hydrophilic (have
where the thickened pulp is
Rare Earth Oxide (REO) deposit. LI material was also stockpiled an affinity with water) and
introduced into a plate and
The highest concentration of and totalled 364,075 tonnes hence be depressed, sinking
frame membrane filter press at
Rare Earths is found in the assaying 12.6% TLnO. to the bottom and reporting
high pressure to produce a filter
Central Lanthanide Deposit to tailings.
cake containing 17% moisture.
(CLD) and is currently an open The reagent regime adopted The filter cake discharged
CrUSHinG and GrindinG
pit to a depth of 51m. The to treat the Mount Weld from the filter press is loaded
Mount Weld CLD is the richest The stockpiled Run Of Mine
(ROM) material is crushed ore has been developed into two tonne double lined
known Rare Earths deposit in over many years of rigorous bags. The bags are loaded
the world. and screened to produce a
particle size distribution of testing. Approximately 70% into sea containers, by road
The Rare Earths are hosted 100% passing 20mm. The sub of the REO is recovered in the train transported to the Port
in secondary Rare Earths 20mm material is fed into the flotation circuit and a flotation of Fremantle and shipped to
phosphates that can contain grinding circuit by a front end concentrate of 40% REO is Malaysia for further processing
up 60-70% REO. They are loader. The grinding circuit produced. at the LAMP.
finely disseminated within consists of a single ball mill The first stage of flotation
various iron oxides, such as in closed circuit to produce a involves one stage of roughing tailinGS StoraGe
goethite and limonite. The target grind size of 38µm. The followed by three stages of The flotation tailings generated
Rare Earths phosphates within fine grind is required to allow scavenging. The objective of from the process are stored
the CLD are predominantly separation of the valuable the rougher/scavenger circuit is in a purpose built tailings
light Rare Earths enriched, Rare Earths minerals from to recover as much Rare Earths repository. The tailings settle
however heavy Rare Earths the non-Rare Earths minerals mineral as possible. The second and consolidate to form a
mineralisation in the form prior to flotation. stage of flotation is termed beach and the water gravity
of churchite does exist cleaning. Depressants are added
The Mount Weld Concentrator flows towards a central decant
in the Duncan Deposit to the concentrate recovered in
is designed to process 121,000 where the supernatant liquor
and is currently under the rougher/scavenger circuit to
tonnes per annum of ore and can be collected and pumped
metallurgical investigation. remove tailings entrained in the
will produce approximately back to the plant and recycled
The Rare Earths within the CLD 33,000 tonnes per annum froth. This process is designed in the future.
from the first mining campaign of concentrate in Phase 1 of to achieve a target concentrate
grade of 40% REO. The tailings have a grade of
have been classified into two the Lynas production plan. 6-8% REO and have a higher
main lithologies, CZ and LI. Phase 1 of the plan will see REO head grade than most
The CZ material is a soft friable approximately 11,000 tonnes dewaterinG and other deposits around the
silt stone that comprises about of separated REO produced BaGGinG world. Future retreatment of
two thirds of the deposit. The in Malaysia. The final flotation concentrate the tailings may be possible.
LI material is harder and more is pumped to a 9m diameter
competent than the CZ, as the tank called a thickener, where
minerals are fused together Flotation
the solids settle after the
with iron oxide cement. Flotation is a mineral
addition of hydrated lime and
Additionally, the Rare Earths processing technique that
flocculent. This causes the solid
minerals in the LI are finer involves introducing air into
particles to come together and
grained than the CZ material. an agitated pulp, together
form floccs that are heavy and
with selective chemicals, called
settle to the bottom of the
collectors, to coat the Rare
thickener cone. The thickener
Earths mineral surface to make
has a slow moving rake in
it hydrophobic (water repelling).
the bottom, which directs
Once hydrophobic the Rare
the settled solid bed to an
Earths minerals attach
underflow cone where the
themselves to an air bubble
thickened pulp is removed
and lift from the pulp.
by a peristaltic hose pump
This brochure is printed on Monza Recycled paper, which is an environmentally responsible paper manufactured
with 55% recycled fibre. It is sourced from sustainable plantation wood and is elemental chlorine free (ECF).