Mining

New assays confirm high-grade potential of RareX’s Cummins Range rare earths project

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By Imelda Cotton - 
RareX Cummins Range Rare Earths Project ASX REE drilling results

The latest drilling results from the WA rare earths project include wide, bonanza-grade zones.

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Diversified explorer RareX (ASX: REE) has confirmed assays from recent in-fill and extensional drilling have shown potential for a high-grade resource at its flagship Cummins Range rare earths project in Western Australia’s Kimberley region.

Drilling aimed to upgrade the project’s current inferred resource of 13 million tonnes at 1.13% total rare earth oxides (TREO) with 22.1% neodymium-praseodymium, and to define a high-grade component.

Results from 18 holes returned wide, bonanza-grade results in the north-west and central portion of the deposit and showed the mineralisation thickens close to surface and to the east.

It remains open along strike and at depth.

Ultra-high grade zone

Best assays from the September program were 62m at 2.6% TREO and 0.5% niobium pentoxide including 25m at 4.4% TREO and 0.6% niobium pentoxide, and an ultra-high zone of 6m at 9.4% TREO and 1.5% niobium pentoxide.

Also reported was a result of 45m at 2.4% TREO and 0.5% niobium pentoxide including 20m at 4% TREO and 0.9% niobium pentoxide, including 6m at 6.2% TREO and 1.4% niobium pentoxide.

Strong foundation

RareX managing director Jeremy Robinson said the program provides a strong foundation for the planned resource upgrade at Cummins Range.

“The majority of results received to date have exceeded our expectations in terms of width and grade, giving us a high degree of confidence in the ability to define a solid high-grade component as part of the upgrade,” he said.

“We are seeing much thicker zones in the central part of the deposit, while still achieving some really strong grades well above the average grade of the current inferred resource.”

Best ever hole drilled last month

Cummins Range is one of only two known rare earth deposits in Australia to bear carbonatites.

In October, RareX announced it had drilled the “best ever hole” at Cummins, providing a strong indication of the quality, scale and grade of the project.

At the time, Mr Robinson said the 90m intercept “would have to be up there globally” in terms of its results.