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Heavy Rare Earths Limited (“HRE” or “the Company”) is pleased to report an addition to its existing rare earth project portfolio of Cowalinya and Merino (WA), and Duke (NT).
- New Perenjori project adds to HRE’s rare earth exploration portfolio in Western Australia’s Mid West region
- 100 per cent-owned project targeted for ion-adsorption type rare earth deposits
- Cursory historic exploration and none for rare earths
The Company’s 100 per cent-owned Perenjori rare earth project is located in the Mid West region of Western Australia approximately 185 kilometres ESE of the port city of Geraldton (Figure 1). It covers an area of 329 km2 in two adjacent exploration licences E70/6397 and E70/6398 that were recently granted by the Department of Mines, Industry Regulation and Safety. The underlying tenure to the project is (from N to S) unallocated Crown land, general lease (for grazing purposes) and private farm land.
Native Title rights over the region is held by the Yamatji Nation.
The exploration model being investigated by HRE is heavy rare earths (HREE)-enriched ion- adsorption clay-hosted deposits similar to those found in southern China and Myanmar which supply most of the world’s HREEs. The Perenjori and nearby Merino area (refer to ASX announcement 1 September 2023) both ranked very highly in an internal study targeting this style of mineralisation in Western Australia’s palaeochannels.
Geology and Previous Exploration
The geology of the Perenjori area is dominated by Quaternary lacustrine sediments of ephemeral salt lakes (playas) as well as calcrete and laterite. Laterite is associated with sparse outcrops of Archaean granitoids which locally exhibit extreme weathering. Minor outcrops of fresh granitoids range from hornblende and biotite-bearing granite and granodiorite to undifferentiated varieties. Chemical analysis by the Geological Survey of Western Australia shows that granitic intrusions immediately north of the project contain between 363 and 889 ppm TREE (total rare earths). No samples were analysed within HRE’s tenements.
Palaeochannels are inferred to occur beneath most of the project area, but owing to the complete absence of exploration drilling on HRE’s tenements the precise location and depth of these palaeochannels remains uncertain.
Figure 1: Location of Perenjori project tenements E70/6397 and E70/6398.Background image: 1:250,000 scale Perenjori Topographic Map.
Planned Exploration by HRE
The Company has agreed to the terms of the Yamatji Nation Indigenous Land Use Agreement’s Standard Heritage Agreement (SHA) and final execution of the SHA is imminent. This allows the commencement of on-ground exploration at both Perenjori and nearby Merino.
HRE plans to complete a first-pass sweep of the Perenjori project, comprising soil and rock sampling, during Year 1 of exploration. Drilling in Year 2 of the program will be subject to the results of Year 1 activities.
The proposed budget for Years 1 and 2 of exploration on the Perenjori project is summarized in Table 1. The statutory minimum annual expenditure commitment on the project is the same for each year at $109,000.
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HRE:AU
Heavy Rare Earths
Overview
Demand for rare earth elements (REEs) is rapidly increasing. These minerals are necessary to manufacture permanent magnets, auto and fluid cracking catalysts, and are also used in emerging technologies. Much of the world’s REE comes from China, making countries investing in clean energy largely reliant on Chinese supply. However, Australia is quickly ramping up production and was the fourth-largest REE miner in 2021, providing the market with 22,000 tonnes. The country also has the fifth largest reserves globally, with 4 million tonnes.
Heavy Rare Earths Limited (ASX:HRE) is committed to supporting the transition to sustainable technologies by providing new sources of these critical minerals. HRE has 100 percent ownership of two REE projects in Australia. The flagship Cowalinya Project is located in the premier mining jurisdiction of Western Australia and has demonstrated potential for a significant rare earth resource with an ideal composition. The company raised AU$6 million in its IPO, indicating foundation investor confidence and funding campaigns to advance its assets.
The Cowalinya Project has a JORC-compliant inferred mineral resource of 28 million tonnes at 625 parts per million (ppm) total rare earth oxides (TREO). The resource has an ideal composition of 25 percent magnet REEs and 23 percent heavy REEs, and importantly also contains low concentrations of radioelements.
The company has also confirmed a substantial new body of rare earth mineralisation at Cowalinya. Assays from 215 holes from HRE’s 441-hole rare earth exploration and resource expansion drilling program in 2022 have revealed multiple high-grade REE intercepts (up to 7222 ppm TREO) and the project’s thickest mineralised intercept to date at 42 meters @ 790 ppm TREO from 12 meters in hole AC226 – within a substantial new Western Zone of rare earth mineralisation.
Heavy Rare Earths’ second project, Duke, is located in the Northern Territory and close to both road and rail. The Company plans to commence exploring the asset for heavy REE-enriched deposits similar to the Browns Range project in Western Australia in the middle of 2023.
A management team with extensive experience in the natural resources sector leads the company, with expertise in rare earth exploration and development, financial management and corporate administration. HRE’s leadership team creates confidence in its ability to bring new REEs to market to support the energy transition.
Company Highlights
- Heavy Rare Earths is an Australian exploration and development mining company focusing on rare earth assets to support the clean energy transition.
- The company has 100 percent mineral rights ownership of two assets in premier mining jurisdictions, Western Australia and the Northern Territory.
- The flagship Cowalinya Project has a JORC-compliant inferred resource of 28 million tonnes at 625 ppm TREO with the highly sought-after composition of 25 percent magnet rare earths and 23 percent heavy rare earths.
- Heavy Rare Earths has confirmed a substantial new body of rare earth mineralisation at Cowalinya in 2023.
- An experienced management team leads Heavy Rare Earths with a range of expertise throughout the mining sector, including project management, corporate administration, and rare earth exploration and development.
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Rare Earth Elements in Western Australia and the Northern Territory