Asra gets green light for WA rare earths probe

Asra Minerals could soon drill up to 50,000m across nine tenements at its Mt Stirling project in WA’s eastern Goldfields region after getting its hands on approval to launch a probe for rare earths, cobalt and scandium.

The program is intended to evaluate and define an extensive mineralisation footprint at the multi-commodity operation.

Importantly, Mt Stirling offers a unique and potentially lucrative cocktail of critical rare earths — dysprosium, terbium, neodymium and praseodymium — that, along with the low radioactive composition, put the project among only a handful in the world.

Crucially, Asra’s project is the only one in Australia that offers the profitable mineral profile.

The company’s looming campaign comes after earlier drilling this year verified the presence of rare earths, cobalt and scandium throughout Mt Stirling’s regolith profile that led to a significant re-brand for the gold miner formally known as Torian Resources.

According to the company, the previous program also unveiled a suite of anomalous yttrium clusters over a 5.2km strike length through portable XRF analysis. Importantly, yttrium is a pathfinder element for heavier rare earth elements and the discovery means the company could have more of the material at Mt Stirling than originally thought.

In what will also work in the projects favour management says an interpreted 7.5km strike mineralized corridor is still being tested through ongoing XRF field work.

Asra says the proposed campaign will also include resource definition drilling at its newly defined and nearby Yttria heavy rare earths prospect, en-route to a maiden mineral resource estimate at the target.

Additionally, drilling is planned to define and extend the mineralisation at its nearby Wishbone prospect, extend the mineralisation between Yttria and Wishbone and sniff out regional-scale rare earths and critical mineral accumulations that are thought to be speckled around the project’s Arktos fault.

Asra is currently running the rule over a mineralogical characterisation study using the material from its Yttria and Wishbone prospects with the University of Queensland’s Julius Kruttschnitt Mineral Research Centre.

The company says preliminary observations from the study suggest rare earths from its projects may have derived from an intrusion below the ground’s regolith material.

According to management, it has also tied down the services of Professor Ken Collerson, a key figurehead in its rare earths push.

Collerson, along with seasoned rare earths and critical minerals metallurgical specialist Gavin Beer will drive the company’s rare earths processing play.

The pair is currently looking to develop an economical method of treating the company’s rare earths using faint acids and ion exchange resin collection techniques.

Asra’s rolling rare earths work at Mt Stirling cements the project as a rousing multi-commodity operation that has enabled the former gold miner to mop up a batch of significant hits lately.

Results from a recent precious metal probe returned some of the best numbers across the operation’s southern tenements so far, including a 2m section going 13.21 grams per tonne gold from 106m.

The 2m strike contained a 1m inclusion at 24.79 g/t gold from 106m and a 2m parcel going 4.59 g/t gold from 9m.

Perth-based Asra Minerals appears to be sitting pretty at Mt Stirling with a number of lucrative commodities to chase and a suite of compelling drill targets.

Is your ASX-listed company doing something interesting? Contact: matt.birney@businessnews.com.au