OD6 Metals (ASX:OD6) is conducting a metallurgical diamond core drilling program within the Splinter Rock Rare Earths Project in Western Australia, to support ongoing testwork.
The program will be conducted at the Inside Centre area, which forms the indicated component of the current 119 million tonnes @ 1,632 parts per million total rare earth oxide (TREO) resource.
As part of the program, six twin drill core holes are targeting previously tested aircore sites which best represent early-stage mining areas to obtain representative bulk material.
Samples will be composited at the Australian Nuclear Science and Technology Organisation (ANSTO) for a series of advance campaigns. The campaigns will focus on heap leach optimisation, impurity removal verification, and bulk mixed rare earth carbonate and mixed rare earth hydroxide (MREH) production.
OD6, which has a market capitalisation of $10.74 million, aims to refine the heap leach and impurity removal flowsheet and provide final product samples for offtake discussions.
Managing Director Brett Hazelden says the program aims to produce between 2-2.5 tonnes of representative core with the goal of producing more than 1kg of MREC for customer qualification and offtake progression.
“OD6 has already produced high-quality MREC (56% TREO) and MREH (59% TREO) for our simplified heap leach flowsheet, with this new work to build on our recent flowsheet breakthroughs with ANSTO and the ongoing CPC optioneering study that continues to provide positive outcomes,” Hazelden says.
In August 2025, OD6 revealed it is engaging with potential offtake partners to assess commercial payability options, as well as expand its network of potential high-value downstream customers across Asia, Europe, and North America.
Discussions are continuing with government and potential financing organisations. This is anticipated to be a continuous process over the development cycle.
OD6 Metals is an Australian explorer and developer focused on opportunities in the critical minerals sector, primarily rare earths and copper.
Write to Aaliyah Rogan at Mining.com.au
Images: OD6 Metals
