Krakatoa reports widespread magnet rare earth elements at Mt Clere

Krakatoa Resources Limited (ASX:KTA) has announced that is has discovered widespread magnet rare earth elements from reconnaissance stream sediment geochemical sampling at its Mt Clere project in western Australia.

The company reports that high-value magnet REEs form up to 33% of TREO, including neodymium, praseodymium, dysprosium, samarium, gadolinium and terbium.

Discovery highlights

• The discovery covers catchments across the 330km² E09/2357 tenement, with sample values including:
  • 8,320ppm TREO*
  • 7,198ppm TREO*
  • 6,790pm TREO*
  • 5,774ppm TREO*

    * TREO: Total Rare Earth Oxides – Total of La2O3, CeO2, Pr6O11, Nd2O3, Sm2O3, Eu2O3, Gd2O3, Tb4O7, Dy2O3, Ho2O3, Er2O3, Tm2O3, Yb2O3, Lu2O3, Y2O3

• Several anomalous nickel-copper-cobalt-lead-chromium catchment areas have also been identified within the E09/2357 tenement.
• 260 stream sediment samples across two geochemical field programs, along with over 40 rock samples have been completed.
• Further stream samples from tenements E52/3730 and E52/3731 are currently in the lab undergoing analysis.

Supply chain issues are a major global concern, with China controlling 80% of global REE production

So what’s the deal with magnet rare earth elements?

Magnet REEs are a vital component in a range of applications including mobile phone technology, electric vehicles and defence technology (a standard Lockheed Martin F-35 Lightning contains nearly 450kg of rare earths).

Supply chain issues are a major global concern, with China controlling 80% of global REE production, posing a national security risk for allied western countries.

Mt Clere Project

Krakatoa’s Mt Clere project, made up of eight tenements over nearly 1,800km², is located in the north western corner of the Yilgarn Craton, Gascoyne region of Western Australia.

Historical exploration has been carried out by BHP Minerals and Astro Mining, confirming heavily enriched monazite sands.

What’s next

Krakatoa reports that it is preparing for a 6 month exploration program over the Mt Clere project that will commence “immediately”. The program will include the E52/3730 and E52/3731 tenements once stream and rock samples from the initial phase of exploration have been received and analysed.

Management comments

Krakatoa Resources CEO Mark Major said: “The results of the stream survey are extremely encouraging. This is the first real multi-elemental stream survey undertaken over the vast license area and the results have exceeded our expectations. The presence of anomalous REE’s and Ni-Cu-PGE pathfinder elements is exciting and shows the vast potential of this area. We have identified various localised catchment areas which have exhibited significant drainage anomalism, including numerous samples with over 6,000ppm TREO and abundant highly anomalous Ni-Pb-Cu-Cr-Zn chemical signatures.

We are very thrilled about the E09/2537 tenement results and are now eagerly awaiting the northern tenements stream surveys and reconnaissance rock sampling. These samples are in the laboratory undergoing analysis. Krakatoa is engaging a team of geologists and consultants to follow up these anomalies and provide geophysical support. This will initially entail intense field sampling, mapping and AEM surveys with the aim to be drilling before the end of the year.”

Images: Krakatoa Resources Limited