RareX strikes private vendor deal to earn 80% equity in prospective Piper carbonatite project

Critical minerals explorer RareX (ASX: REE) has entered into an agreement with private vendor True Fella Pty Ltd for access to the Piper carbonatite project in the Northern Territory’s Aileron province.

The project contains an untested 2.5-kilometre-wide bullseye magnetic anomaly forming a large carbonatite target under sedimentary cover of the Arumbera Sandstone interpreted to be up to 200 metres thick based on geophysical survey data.

It is believed to have similarities to RareX’s flagship Cummins Range carbonatite in WA and has been identified as a high-priority target by Perth-based geophysical consulting firm Resource Potentials, which helped WA1 Resources (ASX: WA1) identify the Luni niobium discovery.

Earn-in potential

Under the terms of the deal, RareX will have the opportunity to earn up to 80% equity in Piper over a five-year period by drilling at least three 300m-deep holes for a total of at least 1,000m.

It will be responsible for all aspects of tenure ownership and management, as well as permitting and landholder approvals during the earn-in period.

Once the initial earn-in milestone has been achieved, RareX will solely fund the project’s development up to a decision to mine, at which point True Fella will elect to either contribute to joint venture spending and retain 20% of the project or have its stake diluted to 5%.

Should True Fella opt for dilution, it will be required to either contribute to joint venture spending or relinquish its interest in the tenure in return for a 1% net smelter royalty.

Piper tenements

Piper comprises one small granted tenement and a larger tenement which is pending a heritage land access agreement.

Both tenements were pegged in 2023 and, in recent months, all the surrounding ground has been applied for by WA1 Resources, supporting the niobium-rare earths-phosphorus prospectivity of the region.

RareX is expected to negotiate a land access agreement with the Central Land Council in the coming months, with a view to launching a drilling campaign at Piper in 2025.

Prospective project

RareX managing director James Durrant welcomed the opportunity to access the prospective Piper project.

“We are very pleased to establish a deal with True Fella to explore Piper, as we believe this project has high potential to be a niobium-rare earths carbonatite pipe,” he said.

“The deal is structured to make sure the exploration dollars go into the ground, and RareX is looking forward to testing True Fella’s geophysical carbonatite target model.”

He said the project remained a “robust medium-term proposition” and was complementary to RareX’s existing niobium-rare earths portfolio in Western Australia that includes Cummins Range, the Mt Mansbridge heavy rare earths project and the district-scale Khaleesi project.