Final DFS Drilling Programme Commences at Yangibana

As part of the Company’s soon to be completed Definitive Feasibility Study (DFS), Hastings Technology Metals (ASX:HAS, Hastings or the Company) has commenced its major 2017 drilling programme at the Yangibana Rare Earths Project in the Gascoyne region of Western Australia.
The initial Phase 5 programme, that started in April, aims to expand the current JORC Measured and Indicated Resources at the four best defined deposits within the Project, namely Fraser’s, Bald Hill, Yangibana West and Yangibana North, by additional infill drilling within the current Inferred Resources at these sites.
First results are expected within the next two weeks The second programme, Phase 6, will commence in mid-May and targets prospects that do not currently host Measured or Indicated Resources. Prospects such as Auer and Auer North, that currently host Inferred Resources of 1.39 million tonnes at 1.03%TREO including 0.37%(Nd2O3+Pr2O3), will be upgraded by infill-drilling.
Highlights

• Resource Upgrade and Expansion Drilling Programmes Commence
• Infill drilling at well-defined deposits Fraser’s, Bald Hill, Yangibana West and Yangibana North to upgrade current Inferred Resources
• Similar infill drilling planned for Auer and Auer North  New prospects identified by the Company to be drilled to increase total Resources
• Objective is to increase Measured plus Indicated Resources to support a 10-year mining operation
• Further drilling planned post-DFS to further expand the life of the operation

Prospects identified by Hasting’s exploration, such as Yangibana, Yangibana South and Simon’s Find, will be drill-tested. Based on the Company’s assessment of historical exploration results and its own sampling, Yangibana and Yangibana South are considered to be exciting prospects because of the high ratio of the target neodymium plus praseodymium oxides to Total Rare Earth Oxides (Nd+Pr:TREO) encountered in historical (1980s) drilling and Hastings’ rock chip sampling.
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