RareX Limited (ASX: REE) has reported a ‘substantial’ resource upgrade for its 100%-owned Cummins Range Rare Earths Project, with a 47% increase in overall tonnes, along with a maiden 11.1Mt indicated resource. The results come on the back of a successful 2020 drilling campaign, with the project growing in both size and quality.
Highlights of the upgrade include:
- 47% increase in overall tonnes to 18.8Mt at 1.15% TREO (inc. 0.23% NdPr) + 0.14% Nb2O5
- High-grade tonnes to 6.5Mt at 1.98% TREO (inc. 0.38% NdPr) + 0.21% Nb2O5
- Maiden indicated resource of 11.1Mt at 1.3% TREO (inc. 0.27% NdPr) + 0.17% Nb2O5
In addition to the above, the company reported a potential by-product Niobium Resource.
Cummins Range
The Cummins Range Rare Earths Project is located near Halls Creek in Western Australia’s Kimberley region. Since acquiring the project in mid-2019, RareX has made rapid progress, announcing a maiden JORC 2012 inferred resource of 13Mt at 1.13% TREO in October 2019, with a high Neodymium and Praseodymium “NdPr” content of 22.1% and ultra-low thorium of 50ppm ThO2.
RareX completed its first drill program at Cummins Range in mid-2020, completing 6,143m of RC drilling that proved up the deposit’s high-grade core, with excellent widths and grades of rare earths and niobium encountered.
Up next
The company reports that a 6,000m drill program is underway, with RC drilling already completed and diamond drilling set to begin in the near future. Initial RC drill samples have been submitted for laboratory analysis.
“The resource has increased in grade and scale, and now clearly sits at the forefront of rare earth development projects on the ASX”
Management comments
RareX Managing Director Jeremy Robinson said: “Achieving a resource upgrade of this magnitude is a fantastic result which reflects the great work undertaken by the RareX technical team over the past year. The resource has increased in grade and scale, and now clearly sits at the forefront of rare earth development projects on the ASX.
“Apart from the overall 47% increase in tonnage, we have also posted a sizeable increase in high- grade tonnes and a very significant maiden Indicated Resource of 11.1Mt which will be available for conversion to ore reserves as part of upcoming economic studies.
“Importantly, we believe that there is enormous scope to grow the resource further, both in overall size and grade. We have seen some very encouraging indications from the recent expansionary drilling and we are really looking forward to seeing what the upcoming diamond drilling will reveal.”
Images: RareX Limited
