Eneabba Rare Earths Refinery

Client: Iluka Resources

Location: Eneabba, WA, Australia

Business Segment: Urban Solutions

Industry: Mining & Metals

Services: Engineering and DesignProcurementConstructionMaintenance

Map showing the location of Eneabba Rare Earths Refinery

Executive Summary

Iluka Resources is set to build Australia's first fully integrated rare earths refinery for the production of separated rare earth oxides at Eneabba, Western Australia.

This development is fully funded under a risk sharing arrangement between Iluka and the Australian Government. The refinery will produce both light and heavy separated rare earth oxides and be capable of processing feedstocks from Iluka's portfolio and from a range of third-party suppliers. This includes both mineral sands and rare earths deposits.

Rare earths are among the key building blocks of an electrified economy. Iluka's refinery will establish Western Australia as a strategic hub for the downstream processing of rare earth resources.

Fluor was selected to perform engineering, procurement and construction management (EPCm) for the project. The awarded works include a further front-end engineering design, which will utilize our project delivery experience in optimizing execution plans, cost and schedule.

Client's Challenge

The $1 billion- to $1.2-billion project will produce high-value neodymium, dysprosium, praseodymium and terbium. These separated rare earth oxides are critical to a range of technologies, including electrical vehicles, clean energy generation, advanced electronics and medical and defense applications.

Eneabba is the highest-grade rare earths operation globally. It currently consists of Iluka's unique stockpile of the rare earth bearing minerals monazite and xenotime, as well as the company's Phase 1 (screening) and Phase 2 (concentrating) plant.

Phase 3 (refinery) will build on this existing operation to deliver a significant downstream infrastructure asset comprising roasting, leaching, purification, solvent extraction and product finishing. The refinery will be fed initially from the Eneabba stockpile.

Fluor's Solution

We will collaborate with Iluka to design fundamental aspects of the refinery, including cracking, leaching and purification, solvent extraction and product finishing circuits. Our Perth, Australia, office will lead the project, with support from our offices in New Delhi, Manila and Johannesburg.

Conclusion

Rare earths, the critical minerals that provide key inputs to a broad range of technologies, are essential to global electrification. In Western Australia, we are building Australia’s first fully-integrated facility for the production of rare earth oxides.

The refinery will process Iluka Resources’ and third-party feedstocks, enhancing Western Australia’s role in rare earth processing for the modern economy. With an estimated maximum production capacity of 23,000 tonnes per annum of rare earth oxides, the Eneabba refinery positions Iluka and Australia at the forefront of global electrification and efforts to diversify global supply chains.

Learn about work packages for this project at ERER.fluor.com.