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RareX Subsidiary Identifies Historical Heavy Rare Earth Vein in Exploration at Mt Mansbridge

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By Imelda Cotton - 
RareX ASX REE Mt Mansbridge Exploration commences
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RareX (ASX: REE) subsidiary RareXploration has identified a heavy-rare-earth-bearing quartz breccia vein at the Mt Mansbridge South target in Western Australia, confirming the fertility of basement rocks and the project’s geological model.

It is the first vein discovery at the project in 50 years and supports the company’s belief that the Mt Mansbridge project has the geological ingredients to host a significant heavy rare earths element (HREE) deposit.

RareX discovered the 70-metre vein using portable x-ray fluorescence techniques and will need to conduct further geochemical vectoring before drilling can commence.

Productive Start

Chief executive officer James Durrant said the company had made a productive start to its search for critical minerals at Mt Mansbridge.

“HREE are at the top of the critical minerals list as the energy transition accelerates and demand for consumer electronics continues to rise,” he said.

“Dysprosium and terbium have become bottleneck materials essential for enabling the miniaturisation, efficiency gains and thermal stability required in next-generation technologies, and we believe Mt Mansbridge will be able to add significant value to global demand.”

Hard-Rock Xenotime

One of only a few hard-rock xenotime projects in Australia, Mt Mansbridge is located within the Paleoproterozoic basement rocks of the state’s Kimberley region.

It lies 45 kilometres from the Browns Range project owned by Northern Minerals (ASX: NTU), which hosts a resource of 11.7 million tonnes grading 0.77% total rare earth oxide (TREO) for 86% HREE.

Mt Mansbridge shares a similar geological setting to Browns Range, with the HREE fertility of basement rocks first confirmed in the 1980s through the discovery of a xenotime-bearing quartz vein at the Sigma target within the Killi Killi Formation.

2022 Drilling Program

Red Mountain Mining (ASX: RMX) drilled six holes at Sigma in 2022, returning a best intersection of 16 metres at 0.28% TREO that featured a higher-grade portion of 4m at 0.48% TREO including 1m at 1.06%.

The average magnet rare-earth oxide content was 28%, composed of 10% dysprosium and terbium and 18% neodymium and praseodymium.

Over the coming months, the RareXploration team will assess the basement rocks for further HREE mineralisation, with the aim of drill-testing targets later in the year.