The Australian company has been unable to get federal permits because public lands near the site are home to the endangered wildflower Tiehm’s buckwheat.
Globally, the industry will need as much as $42 billion of investment by the end of the decade in order to meet demand, according to Benchmark Mineral Intelligence.
e miner said it has the second largest nickel sulphide resource base globally, based on its land holding in the Agnew-Wiluna belt in Western Australia.
The Mt Weld mine has deposits of rare earths elements neodymium and praseodymium, which are in high demand for making magnets used in electric vehicles and wind energy generation.