Send us a text

Shane Hartwig, Managing Director and CEO of Northern Minerals, reveals how the company is positioning itself at the forefront of Australia's heavy rare earth sector through its flagship Browns Range project. Located in the remote Kimberley region of Western Australia, this strategic asset represents a significant opportunity to develop an Australian-based rare earths supply chain.

The conversation navigates through Northern Minerals' evolution from uranium explorer to rare earth developer, showcasing how the company plans to produce heavy rare earth-rich concentrate for partner Iluka Resources. This strategic partnership creates a powerful alternative to Chinese-dominated supply chains, with Iluka set to process Northern Minerals' concentrate into separated rare earth oxides essential for permanent magnets used in electric vehicles, wind turbines, defense applications, and even emerging humanoid robotics.

Shane details the company's methodical approach to project development, highlighting recent exploration programs at deposits like Dazzler and Gambit while explaining how their systematic review has identified a strong pipeline of prospects to potentially expand their mineral resources. The discussion provides valuable insights into their optimization efforts around CAPEX and OPEX for the feasibility study expected to be completed by the second quarter's end – a critical milestone that will drive funding discussions with government agencies like NAIF and EFA.