The Ngualla Project is a world-class rare earth development located near the Ngwala Village and approximately 150km from the City of Mbeya in the Songwe Region and on the edge of the East African Rift Valley.
Significant beneficiation and value-adding will be undertaken in Tanzania with ore with a grade of around 4.8% REO being beneficiated into a 45% REO high-grade concentrate. This high-grade rare earth concentrate will be initially be sold as a standalone product, while the study of downstream integration opportunities is undertaken in collaboration with the Government of Tanzania.
Ngualla is also host to widespread, high grade niobium-tantalum, phosphate, fluorspar and barite mineralisation. These additional commodities are at an early stage of evaluation and represent potential upside opportunities for additional products from the project.
Uses
The most important use for neodymium is in an alloy with iron and boron to make very strong permanent magnets. This discovery, in 1983, made it possible to miniaturise many electronic devices, including mobile phones, microphones, loudspeakers and electronic musical instruments. These magnets are also used in car windscreen wipers and wind turbines.
Neodymium is a component, along with praseodymium, of didymium glass. This is a special glass for goggles used during glass blowing and welding. The element colours glass delicate shades of violet, wine-red and grey. Neodymium is also used in the glass for tanning booths, since it transmits the tanning UV rays but not the heating infrared rays.
Neodymium glass is used to make lasers. These are used as laser pointers, as well as in eye surgery, cosmetic surgery and for the treatment of skin cancers.
Neodymium oxide and nitrate are used as catalysts in polymerisation reactions.