Mr Howard, who along with VHM chairman Don Runge is a mining veteran with a long history in developing gold and copper operations for Newcrest, said the company’s off-take talks included Australian players but declined to provide details. Iluka Resources is on the hunt for rare earths supply to complement the large monazite-rich stockpiles left behind from its mineral sands mining at Eneabba, Western Australia, where it is building what will be Australia’s first fully integrated rare earths refinery. Lynas Rare Earths, the world’s biggest non-China producer, has left the door open to processing third-party supply as it expands its...