Rimfire Pacific Mining releases maiden resource estimate for Melrose and Murga North scandium prospects

Rimfire Pacific Mining (ASX: RIM) has released “highly encouraging” maiden scandium resource estimates for the Melrose and Murga North prospects within its Fifield project in central New South Wales.

The company has reported an indicated and inferred resource at Melrose, which is largely “closed off”, of 3 million tonnes grading 240 parts per million scandium for 1,120 tonnes scandium oxide.

At Murga North, which is open to the south and west, the resource is an inferred 21Mt at 125ppm scandium for 4,050t scandium oxide.

Change of focus

Historically, the majority of exploration throughout the area has focused on gold and platinum.

Since 2022, however, Rimfire and exploration partner Golden Plains Resources have worked to a scandium-focused strategy at prospects including Melrose, Murga, Tout East and Derriwong with the aim of building a globally significant resource inventory.

The broader Murga area forms part of Rimfire’s extensive landholding in an area with significant potential for scandium, as seen in the strong results from exploration of the nearby Currajong and Forrest View prospects.

Murga target

Rimfire has confirmed an exploration target for the broader Murga area of between 100Mt and 200Mt at between 100ppm and 200ppm scandium.

The target is based on an outline of a scandium-bearing pyroxenite interpreted from aeromagnetic data, as well as the results of a recent aircore campaign that intersected strong scandium anomalism at multiple locations within the target boundaries.

It is unknown if the whole pyroxenite area will have reasonable prospects for eventual extraction, so only 50% of the area has been included within the target.

Critical metal

Scandium is a high-value critical metal that was included on Australia’s 2023 critical minerals list and the US Geological Survey’s (USGS) 2022 list of 50 mineral commodities critical to the economy and national security.

Pricing by the USGS has ranged from US$2,100 per kilogram in 2019 to US$3,900/kg in 2023 for scandium oxide and from US$134,000/kg to US$269,000/kg over the same period for scandium metal.

Scandium is used as one of the primary materials in hydrogen electrolysis solid oxide fuel cell technology and in the manufacture of lightweight and high-strength aluminium alloys.

Currently, the US is totally dependent on scandium imports from Europe, China, Japan and Russia to meet its domestic needs, with rising demand for the metal considered to be supply-constrained.

Rimfire believes that advanced manufacturers will be looking to secure long-term supplies of the metal within favourable jurisdictions such as Australia before committing to the use of scandium-alloyed aluminium materials in their products.