Working in Africa as an Expat

Today’s podcast is with Andrew Reid, COO of Hastings Technology Metals, an ASX-listed leading Australian rare earths company with two rare earths projects in Western Australia. Rare earths are critical in the manufacture of a wide variety of new consumer and industrial technologies and these range from flat-screen TVs and energy-efficient light bulbs to hybrid cars, wind turbines and military hardware. In this episode, we talk their Yangibana Project and what they have achieved so far and what part this mine will play in the rare earth’s space which is significant outside of China. 

KEY TAKEAWAYS 

I spent my first ten years working in mining in Australia and then spent time in Africa. 

You need a diverse range of skills to work as an expat. You will work alongside others with both low and high-level skill sets and need to understand that for some education may be lower. 

Working as an expat is not for everyone the conditions can be difficult but I developed into the person I am with the skills I have as a result of my experiences. 

Hastings Technology was kickstarted in earnest in 2014 with an exploration program and the technical staff realised early on that the initial investigations were coming back with rare earth and in particular neodymium and praseodymium resources at Yangibana. 

Rare earths are on the periodic table and they always appear together.  When you mine rare earths, you get them together and as a result, you need a complex processing plant. 

We are designing a processing plant that will nominally take about million tonnes of ore feed a year. 

You have to extract from the ground and then concentrate the elements to an economic level, separate them into a powdered oxide and further down the line into forms that can be turned into the final products. 

Powered magnets are a major component in the tsunami of electric vehicles we are seeing coming onto the market and Hasting Technology is now very well placed to meet the needs of a growing marketplace. 

When we are producing 3,400 tonnes this will be 6-7% of the world’s supply. The project will be in a very good position to be on the leading edge for receiving finance 

The rare earths mining market is unique mainly because its dominated and controlled so closely by China and a lot of the market is under long term contracts. The growing electric car sector is a continuing factor in the importance of rare earths as a commodity. 

There needs to be better awareness and education for people around rare earths. 

We are in very exciting times and Hastings Technology is at the forefront of new relationships. It takes its responsibilities and the opportunities that come with being involved in the technology of electric vehicles very seriously and as the use of permanent magnets globally in technology continues to grow the possible applications are increasing. 

BEST MOMENTS 

‘There are many processes that are undertaken before you get to the end product’ 

‘We have already received our early works permit and so have been able to build the infrastructure required for the project’ 

‘The stamp of approval from the highest environmental group, the EPA is vital to allow the permits to be granted’ 

VALUABLE RESOURCES 

The Dig Deep Mining Podcast 

Hastings Technology Metals website 

ABOUT THE HOST 

Rob Tyson 

Rob Tyson is an established recruiter in the mining and quarrying sector and decided to produce the “Dig Deep” The Mining Podcast to provide valuable and informative content around the mining industry. He has a passion and desire to promote the industry and the podcast aims to offer the mining community insight to people’s experiences and careers covering any mining discipline, giving the listeners helpful advice and guidance on industry topics. 

Rob is the Founder and Director of Mining International Ltd, a leading global recruitment and headhunting consultancy based in the UK specialising in all areas of mining across the globe from the first world to third world countries from Africa, Europe, Middle East, Asia and Australia. We source, headhunt and discover new and top talent through a targeted approach and search methodology and have a proven track record in sourcing and positioning exceptional candidates into our clients’ organisation in any mining discipline or level. Mining International provides a transparent, informative and trusted consultancy service to our candidates and clients to help them develop their careers and business goals and objectives in this ever-changing marketplace. 

CONTACT METHOD 

Email Rob at rob@mining-international.org  

Rob’s LinkedIn  

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