PROSPECTOR Mount Grace Resources NL has agreed with South Africa’s Mintek to build a pilot plant for producing magnesium in Australia’s Northern Territory. Mount Grace is to pay Mintek, South Africa’s government-backed minerals research group, up to A$2m to help fund construction of a 1.5 megawatt plant and for a licence to use Mintek’s continuous thermal magnesium technology, it said. Magnesite ore from Mount Grace’s Batchelor magnesium deposit, 85 km south of Darwin, will be used during the test period, expected to start early next year, the company said. Magnesium is increasingly being favoured by vehicle makers as an alloy in making engine components and wheels due to its strength and lightness compared to aluminium and plastics. – Reuters