PROCESSING

Peak commits to lease for UK rare earths refinery site

Refinery is intended to produce up to 2,810tpa of neodymium praseodymium oxide

This article is 4 years old. Images might not display.

The refinery, located on Teeside, is intended to produce up to 2,810tpa of neodymium praseodymium oxide and is expected to cost US$160 million to construct.

"The Teesside location provides a major competitive advantage with its "plug and play" infrastructure, skilled labour force and proximity to potential customers, while its freeport status provides tangible tax and other benefits," said Peak's managing director Bardin Davis.

A bankable feasibility study was completed on Ngualla in 2017.

However, the Ngualla project has been stuck in licencing limbo for four years and cannot advance until Peak is granted a special mining licence (SML) by Tanzania's government. 

Davis told Mining Journal in April that Peak was "very well positioned to secure that approval in the not too distant future", following positive noises from Tanzania's new president.

 

The company plans to update its BFS once it has secured the SML.

Expert-led Insights reports built on robust data, rigorous analysis and expert commentary covering mining Exploration, Future Fleets, Automation and Digitalisation, and ESG.

Expert-led Insights reports built on robust data, rigorous analysis and expert commentary covering mining Exploration, Future Fleets, Automation and Digitalisation, and ESG.

editions

ESG Index 2025: Benchmarking the Future of Sustainable Mining

The ESG Index provides an in-depth evaluation of the ESG performance of 60+ of the world’s largest mining companies. It assesses companies across 10 weighted indicators within 6 essential ESG pillars.

editions

Automation and Digitalisation Insights 2025

Discover how mining companies and investors are adopting, deploying and evaluating new technologies.

editions

Mining IQ Exploration Insights 2025

Gain exclusive insights into the world of exploration in a comprehensive review of the top trending technologies, intercepts, discoveries and more.

editions

Future Fleets Insights 2025

Mining IQ Future Fleets Insights 2025 looks at how companies are using alternative energy sources to cut greenhouse gas emmissions