Hastings Rare Metals (ASX: HAS) has received a notice of change in substantial shareholding from its chairman Charles Lew, who increased his shareholding in the company to 14.98% from 6.12%.
He had acquired 209,573 shares for $18,442.42, or $0.088 each, on 20 November 2013, and a further 13.82 million shares for $898,300, or $0.065 each, on 9 December.
His holding of 27,646,955 shares makes him the largest shareholder in the company.
Lew, who has been involved in a wide range of investment banking activities, was appointed the company's chairman earlier this month.
The company is currently investigating a low cost production opportunity for its Hastings Heavy Rare Earths Project in Western Australia that could fast-track commercial production.
This involves an offshore location study as well as evaluating and securing toll treatment partnerships for ore milling; extraction and separation; and final product refining.
Taking these functions offshore will also de-risk the project by significantly reducing capital costs, allowing the company to access lower cost funding and reducing overall processing operating expenses.
Hastings is a world class heavy rare earth project that is located within a favourable jurisdiction with excellent existing infrastructure and a current Resource of 36.2 million tonnes at 0.21% TREO and 0.18% HREO, the largest in Australia and fourth largest globally.
This is further differentiated from other projects by its predominantly heavy rare earths (85%) content, such as dysprosium and yttrium, which are substantially more valuable than the more common light rare earths.
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