Mineral sands miner Iluka said on Tuesday that it was continuing discussions with the Australian government regarding funding arrangements for its rare earths refinery in Western Australia.

In its third quarter results announcement, the company stated that a broader project update would be issued in the second half of the year.

Iluka has previously said it would not complete the Eneabba project without more Australian government funding, stating that it required an appropriate risk-sharing partnership to advance the A$1.7-billion to A$1.8-billion refinery.

The company considers the Eneabba refinery as central to Australia’s critical minerals policy objectives.

Meanwhile, Iluka produced 42 500 t of zircon sand, 26 700 t of zircon-in-concentrate, 10 400 t of rutile and 59 700 t of synthetic rutile in the third quarter. Overall, production decreased by 31.4% year-on-year.

Heavy mineral concentrate from the Jacinth-Ambrosia mine, in South Australia, fell sharply to 52 000 t, owing to the processing of lower-grade ore.

In Western Australia, the Cataby mine produced 159 000 t of heavy mineral concentrate.

The Narngulu mineral separation plant primarily processed Jacinth-Ambrosia material, producing a total of 69 000 t of zircon and 10 000 t of rutile.

The miner reported mineral sands revenue of A$222-million, down 10.2% on the A$232-million reported a year earlier.