First pass drilling by ABx Group between its two rare earths discoveries in Tasmania has confirmed a contiguous 6.5km mineralised channel with the new results to feed into a maiden resource estimate. Results from the thick and shallow zone include 21m at 2511 parts per million total rare earth oxides from 2m downhole and another 8m hit grading 1556ppm total rare earth oxides also from 2m.
Notably for ABx, the drilling campaign between its Deep Leads and Rubble Mound rare earth discoveries yielded the thickest intercepts so far and has increased the company’s prospect size by 27 per cent to 5.1 square kilometres.
Following up from the record breaking results, the company has also already gone as far as to earmark a broader 31.3 square kilometre zone for a follow-up drilling campaign of about 70 holes that is anticipated to kick off as soon as next month.
ABX Group Managing Director and Chief Executive Officer, Mark Cooksey said: “The extensive channel structure has connected and combined the two discoveries into a single deposit, and excitingly, the mineralisation has also been shown to return results which are thick – exceeding 20 metres thickness – and near surface.”
The upcoming campaign is pending government approvals but is aiming to focus on infilling and expanding the recently defined mineralised channel in addition to probing for a new style of rare earths mineralisation encountered in alluvial flats to the south of the project.
As an added bonus for the company, the results from the drilling confirmed earlier modelling that had suggested its discoveries were connected. The campaign has also shown the unfolding system can host thicker intercepts — a revelation ABx is keen to assess with future work.
So far the rare earths encountered by the explorer have typically been concentrated in buried channel structures at a depth of between six to 12m.
However, the latest results may cause a change in thinking as the data demonstrates the ability of the system to host even shallower mineralisation, with one hole yielding a 1m assay going 1884ppm total rare earth oxides from surface.
The latest work will feed into a maiden resource estimate that is already underway.
Outside of its Rubble Mound and Deep Leads discoveries, ABx’s Tasmanian rare earths portfolio also takes in the Wind Break and Portrush prospects —hailed as discoveries — that sit about 16km and 52km respectively from Deep Leads.
Rare earths have garnered some serious attention in the markets as of late owing to their role in the emerging green energy revolution. The rare earths-based neodymium-praseodymium oxide is a key component in neodymium magnets, also known as “NdFeB”, “NIB” or “Neo” magnets.
The high-tech magnets are commonly used in smartphones, wind turbines and electric vehicles.
However, despite neo magnets having strong magnetic strength, their efficiency is lost under operating conditions of high temperatures such as in wind turbines and motors.
This is why special types of neo magnets are being developed that include the rare earths terbium and dysprosium in an effort to have the magnet able to tolerate higher temperatures.
Notably, up to 30 per cent of the total rare earth oxides encountered in some of ABx’s latest drill holes are a mix of praseodymium, neodymium, dysprosium and terbium oxides.
According to business intelligence company CRU International, the demand for NdFeB magnets is expected to increase nearly four-fold over the period of 2021 to 2038 with a compound annual growth rate of 8.3 per cent.
ABx says it is the first to discover the coveted ionic adsorption clay rare earths style of deposit in Tasmania, a style which has only been bought into commercial production thus far by China, leading to a potentially important new industry for the apple isle.
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By Matt Birney
