The assays are starting to roll in now from Northern Minerals’ 51-hole exploratory drill program at its Browns Range rare earths project and the numbers from the company’s aptly named “Dazzler” prospect certainly have not disappointed.
Early assays received by the company from Dazzler returned some impressive near surface intercepts of up to 7.71% total rare earth oxides, or “TREO”, including 7,502 parts per million dysprosium, a sort after rare earth by the EV sector that is mostly only mined out of China.
Dysprosium is infused into large industrial magnets that are used in electric motors to stop them from demagnetising when they get hot.
Located less than 15 kilometres from Northern Minerals’ Browns Range pilot plant on the edge of a small scarp in WA’s Kimberley, Dazzler currently enjoys a maiden inferred mineral resource of 144,000 tonnes at 2.23% TREO comprising 3,200,000 kilograms TREO using a cut-off grade of 0.15% TREO.
The recent RC program focussed on the area of the scree slope below the scarp where previous drilling was undertaken, and it was designed to step-out to the north in order to update the existing mineral resource.
Importantly, the new intercept at Dazzler commenced pretty much right from surface, providing some hope that Dazzler might be very cheap to mine.
Of the assay results recently released by Northern Minerals, the intersections containing dysprosium stand out. Just as importantly, they also reveal high grades of TREO and heavy rare earth oxides, or “HREO”, from surface.
They include 21m at 7.71% TREO, 7,502 parts per million dysprosium and 92% HREO, 19m at 6.05% TREO, 5,595ppm dysprosium and 87% HREO.
Other solid numbers were 9m at 5.27% TREO, 5,293ppm dysprosium and 78% HREO, 10m at 1.191% TREO, 1,111ppm dysprosium and 87% HREO and 13m at 0.91% TREO, 808ppm dysprosium and 77% HREO.
Encouraged by these results, Northern Minerals is now planning to complete a further resource upgrade in January.
The company has also started metallurgical test work on Dazzler’s drill core.
Northern Minerals’ Managing Director and Chief Executive Officer George Bauk said:"We continue to be impressed and enthusiastic about the potential of Dazzler.”
“As with all mineral deposits ‘grade is king’ and these results continue to deliver on the upside.”
We will now commence updating the mineral resource estimate and investigate mining studies for Dazzler.”
Is your ASX listed company doing something interesting ? Contact : matt.birney@businessnews.com.au
By Matt Birney
