Astron (ASX:ATR) has been approved by the Australian Government to export rare earth element (REE) concentrate to the US.
REE concentrate sourced from the Donald Rare Earth and Minerals Sands Project in regional Victoria is subject to a right-to-purchase agreement with Astron’s joint venture partner, Energy Fuels.
Energy Fuels is a US critical minerals producer which has the right to purchase 100% of Donald’s REE concentrate product.
The REE concentrate product will be processed into rare earth oxides (REO) at Energy Fuels’ White Mesa Mill in Utah.
Astron’s product from the Donald Project is described as notable for “highly valuable” heavy rare earth content, including 0.4% terbium oxide and 2.7% dysprosium oxide as a percentage of total rare earth oxides.
Astron describes terbium and dysprosium as “among the most valuable and strategically important rare earth elements” as the minerals improve the durability and performance of permanent magnets.
Dysprosium and terbium oxides produced at its White Mesa Mill were recently approved for the use in commercial rare earth permanent magnet production. These oxides need no further qualification or validation.
Astron and Energy Fuels are working together to finalise project financing for phase one of the Donald Project.
A final investment decision for the Donald Project is targeted for Q3 2026.
Australia’s rare earths to skyrocket
According to the Department of Industry, Science and Resources’ (DISR) June 2026 Resources and Energy Quarterly, Australia’s export earnings from other critical minerals are forecast to grow from $5.5 billion in the last financial year to $7 billion in 2030–31.
Excluding lithium and nickel, other critical minerals such as manganese, mineral sands, and rare earths account for the majority of critical minerals export earnings.
DISR predicts that rare earth exports will more than triple in nominal terms, led by increased prices and intermediate and refined output.
Elsewhere in Australia, ABx Group (ASX:ABX) is focused on supplying light and heavy rare earths into Western supply chains, sourced from the Deep Leads Project in Tasmania.
In March 2026, the Australian Nuclear Science and Technology Organisation (ANSTO) produced its second mixed rare earth carbonate (MREC) sample from ABx’s Deep Leads resource.
The material for the MREC sample is from a 100kg bulk sample taken from trial pit DLP002 at Deep Leads, producing higher proportions of dysprosium and terbium.
ANTSO confirmed in June that the second MREC product is exempt from radiological control, recording lower radioactivity levels than the maiden product.
Exemption from radiological control is critical to minimising regulatory compliance requirements for shipping and end-use, while also offering broader options for blending MRECs from multiple sources, ABx says.
ABx distributed 10-gram samples of MREC to six potential customers in Australia and North America. Feedback has been positive to date, indicating that the product is of ‘high purity’ and suitable for processing.
ABx Group is focused on delivering materials for a safer, cleaner future through heavy rare earths, clean fluorine chemical production, and near-term bauxite production.
In Queensland, Ark Mines (ASX:AHK) has its Sandy Mitchell mixed rare earth oxides deposit, which the company describes as “one of the world’s largest surface-expressed, sand-based placer rare earth deposits”.
Sandy Mitchell has a resource estimate of 71.8 million tonnes @ 1,732.7 parts per million monazite equivalent, containing ‘high-value’ heavy minerals including monazite, xenotime, zircon, garnet, and titanium minerals including rutile and ilmenite.
The project hosts all critical light rare earths, as well as dysprosium, terbium, holmium, erbium, thulium, ytterbium, yttrium, monazite, zircon, rutile, xenotime, and ilmenite.
Ark Mines is a critical minerals exploration and development company with assets in North Queensland.
Write to Maddison Elliott at Mining.com.au
Images: Astron
