Australian rare earths developer Hastings Technology Metals announced on Monday that Andrew Forrest’s Wyloo Metals had withdrawn its default notice and reaffirmed its support for both Hastings and the Yangibana rare earths project, in Western Australia.

“We are pleased to have resolved this matter swiftly with Wyloo and there is ongoing goodwill between the parties,” said executive chairperson Charles Lew.

Wyloo had previously accused Hastings of breaching terms related to a A$150-million loan from Equator Capital Management, a company with ties to Lew. Wyloo expressed concern that the loan arrangement had granted Equator priority repayment rights.

In response, Hastings agreed to amend Equator’s project loan notes to release the security interest and the loan will now be unsecured.

Hastings emphasised that these amended terms were negotiated at arm's length and approved by the Hastings board, with Lew recusing himself from the decision-making process.

A key issue for Wyloo has been the forthcoming redemption of its exchangeable notes, set to mature in less than a year. Wyloo estimates that Hastings will need to raise approximately A$220-million by November 2025 to redeem the notes. In addition, Hastings will need to secure further capital to complete construction of the Yangibana project.

In a statement on Monday, Wyloo CEO Luca Giacovazzi expressed the company’s support of Hastings’ efforts to fund the remaining capital needed for the Yangibana project.

“Hastings will discuss with Wyloo the constructive redemption of the Exchangeable Notes in advance of the maturity of the exchangeable notes in October 2025,” he said.

Located in the Gascoyne region of Western Australia, the Yangibana project is one of the world’s highest-value deposits of neodymium-praseodymium (NdPr), a rare earth metal crucial for producing permanent magnets used in technologies such as electric vehicles (EVs), renewable-energy systems, and advanced robotics.

Hastings remains focused on progressing the project’s phased development. The company has already spent A$223-million (one-third of the project’s total capex) on the initial stage, which includes the construction of the mine and beneficiation plant. The first phase will produce 37 000 t/y of mixed rare earth concentrate.

Lew highlighted that Hastings continued to explore funding solutions for the remainder of the project’s financing.

“. . . we are considering optimal funding solutions to secure the balance of the funding that is in the long-term interests of our shareholders,” he said.

With a planned initial mine life of 17 years, the Yangibana project is positioned to become a globally significant source of NdPr, with a ratio of up to 52% NdPr to total rare earth oxide in certain parts of the orebody. The project is fully permitted for immediate development and is well-positioned to meet the forecast supply gap for critical rare earth elements driven by the growing demand for EVs and wind turbines—key components of the global energy transition.

Hastings continues to assess downstream processing opportunities including the development of a hydrometallurgical plant to capture more of the rare earth value chain. The company used the loan from Wyloo to purchase a strategic 21.5% shareholding in TSX-listed Neo Performance Materials, a leading global rare earth processing and advanced permanent magnets producer, providing future optionality to explore the creation of a mine-to-magnet supply chain.