ASX ANNOUNCEMENT
29 March 2022
New tenements secured in expanded search for clay hosted rare earths
• Leveraging the expertise developed during the past two-year assessment of the 100% owned flagship Koppamurra Project, AR3 has identified other highly prospective regions for clay hosted rare earth exploration within Australia
• Three new areas have been added to the AR3 exploration portfolio:
Woolgangie (Western Australia)
- A Joint Venture with Belres Pty Ltd (Belres JV) that includes two granted exploration tenements and five pending applications, 60km south-east of Coolgardie
- Previous drilling identified thicknesses up to 22m of anomalous rare earth element content in regolith under 10m of overburden
- AR3 has also submitted tenement applications immediately adjacent to those within the Belres JV, giving a total combined 2,200km2 of prospective exploration area
Dalrymple (Queensland)
- Five exploration licence applications, centred 100km SW from Bowen in Queensland
- Exploration tenure dominated by rock suites containing high value prospective rare earth minerals, including Allanite
- 1,505km2 of highly accessible ground near existing road and rail infrastructure
Massie Creek (Queensland)
- Granted Exploration Licence EMP 27952, roughly 200km WSW of Cairns, allowing for rapid on-ground evaluation of the prospect
- Nearby stream sediment sampling detected elevated REE that may originate from the igneous host rocks in the region
- 327km2 of prospective ground in a location with highly weathered clay potential
Australian Rare Earths Limited(ASX:AR3)('AR3' or the Company) is pleased to announce three new exploration areas, potentially hosting rare earth clay resources. Clay hosted rare earth resources are unique in providing a heavy rare earth content, without deleterious radioactive elements, in deposits that are close to surface, flat lying, and homogenous. Mining of these deposit types is usually simple open cut in soft ground with a low strip ratio, lending itself to lower capital and operating costs, with potential for rapid progressive rehabilitation.
Australian Rare Earths Limited ABN 73 632 645 302
ASX Code: AR3
Level 10, 111 Gawler Place Adelaide, SA 5000
Website:www.ar3.com.au Email:hello@ar3.com.au
Phone: 1300 646 100
Woolgangie
A Joint Venture with Belres Pty Ltd ("Belres") for 7 exploration tenements plus 7 additional AR3 neighbouring exploration tenements, 60km south-west of Coolgardie, Western Australia. Known as the Woolgangie Rare Earth Element (REE) project, the ground comprises an area of 2,200km2 of exploration license recently granted or under application. This includes a 70km strike length of the Ida Fault zone, a major crustal suture zone that separates the Southern Cross Domain to the west and the Coolgardie Domain the east. The AR3 team considers the Woolgangie area prospective for REE exploration based on drilling that indicated significant zones of regolith (weathered granite) hosted REEs that were intersected in 2010, whilst drilling for nickel.
It appears that the zones of clay hosted REEs have been formed in the regolith via a supergene enrichment process and sourced from the underlying granite. Easy access to the tenements is available via bush tracks from the nearby camp site of Queen Victoria Rock.
Figure 1 - Cross Section Looking North, RC (WRC016) and RAB Drilling conducted by Mincor in 2009 / 2010 completed on now granted (Belres) tenement E 1501831
Intersections from Reverse Circulation (RC) drilling in the regolith included WRC0014 (22m @ 268ppm Ce, 230ppm La and 41ppm Y totalling 680ppm TREE) from 10m depth, and WRC0016 (26m @ 377ppm Ce, 209ppm La and 97ppm Y totalling 683ppm TREE) from 32m depth with other REE not yet assayed.
Recent assays of previous Rotary Airblast Drilling (RAB) spoil adjacent to the WRC0016 drillhole, shown in Figure 1 above, confirmed elevated levels of all REEs from 9 samples of weathered granite clay returning up
Australian Rare Earths Limited | Phone: 1300 646 100 |
ABN 73 632 645 302 | Email:hello@ar3.com.au |
Level 10, 111 Gawler Place | Website:www.ar3.com.au |
Adelaide, SA 5000 |
to 180ppm Nd, 27ppm Sm, 3ppm Gd, 14ppm Dy and 54ppm Y; with total REE oxides (TREO) of up to 1,582ppm from a single sample. The average TREO for the nine samples was 890ppm.
REO | La2O3 | CeO2 | Nd2O3 | Sm2O3 | Eu2O3 | Gd2O3 | Tb4O7 | Dy2O3 | Ho2O3 | Er2O3 | Tm2O3 | Yb2O3 | Y2O3 | TREO |
Hole_ID (Grab) | 1.173 | 1.228 | 1.1664 | 1.1596 | 1.1579 | 1.1526 | 1.151 | 1.1477 | 1.1455 | 1.1435 | 1.1421 | 1.1387 | 1.27 | |
RAB KWB083 | 115.0 | 260.3 | 68.6 | 10.1 | 1.0 | 6.0 | 0.9 | 4.9 | 0.9 | 2.4 | 0.3 | 2.4 | 23.6 | 496.4 |
RAB KWB082 | 222.9 | 352.4 | 70.8 | 9.3 | 0.8 | 5.5 | 0.8 | 4.4 | 0.8 | 2.1 | 0.2 | 1.8 | 19.3 | 691.0 |
RAB KWB082 | 278.0 | 499.8 | 124.8 | 17.6 | 1.6 | 10.6 | 1.6 | 8.1 | 1.4 | 3.7 | 0.5 | 3.0 | 36.4 | 987.2 |
RAB KWB082 | 287.4 | 498.6 | 124.8 | 17.6 | 1.5 | 10.6 | 1.5 | 7.6 | 1.4 | 3.5 | 0.5 | 2.8 | 35.8 | 993.6 |
RAB KWB081 | 173.6 | 310.7 | 79.1 | 11.0 | 1.0 | 7.4 | 1.1 | 6.4 | 1.1 | 3.3 | 0.4 | 2.8 | 30.6 | 628.5 |
RAB KWB080 | 462.2 | 785.9 | 206.5 | 29.8 | 2.6 | 19.1 | 2.5 | 13.0 | 2.1 | 5.3 | 0.6 | 3.6 | 49.3 | 1,582.5 |
RAB KWB084 | 221.7 | 356.1 | 86.3 | 12.9 | 1.4 | 9.5 | 1.4 | 8.7 | 1.7 | 5.1 | 0.7 | 4.8 | 48.8 | 759.2 |
RAB KWB085 | 161.9 | 305.8 | 83.7 | 13.3 | 1.4 | 9.5 | 1.4 | 7.5 | 1.4 | 3.5 | 0.5 | 2.7 | 36.8 | 629.3 |
RAB KWB085 | 355.4 | 702.4 | 210.0 | 31.7 | 3.5 | 22.1 | 2.9 | 15.7 | 2.7 | 6.6 | 0.7 | 4.6 | 69.2 | 1,427.7 |
Table 1 - Recent analysis of old Rotary Airblast Drilling (RAB) spoil, grab samples
Near surface weathered horizons of the Burra Granodiorite is the initial target area for regolith hosted REE exploration. The grab samples of this weathered horizon, detailed in Table 1 above, are currently being assessed for simple desorption and acid leaching of REEs.
Project | Tenement ID | Holder | Application Date | Grant date | Blocks | Area sq km |
Woolgangie | E15/1798 | Belres Pty Ltd | 26/10/2020 | 18/03/2022 | 24 | 67.2 |
Woolgangie | E15/1831 | Belres Pty Ltd | 10/08/2021 | 18/03/2022 | 56 | 156.8 |
Woolgangie | E15/1834 | Belres Pty Ltd | 30/08/2021 | pending | 50 | 140 |
Woolgangie | E15/1842 | Belres Pty Ltd | 10/09/2021 | pending | 60 | 168 |
Woolgangie | E15/1898 | Belres Pty Ltd | 4/03/2022 | pending | 48 | 134.4 |
Woolgangie | E63/2202 | Belres Pty Ltd | 4/03/2022 | pending | 60 | 168 |
Woolgangie | E15/1899 | Belres Pty Ltd | 15/03/2022 | pending | 60 | 168 |
Totals: | 358 | 1002.4 | ||||
Woolgangie | E15/1868 | WRDBD Developments Pty Ltd | 8/12/2021 | pending | 70 | 196 |
Woolgangie | E15/1869 | WRDBD Developments Pty Ltd | 8/12/2021 | pending | 70 | 196 |
Woolgangie | E15/1870 | WRDBD Developments Pty Ltd | 8/12/2021 | pending | 64 | 179.2 |
Woolgangie | E15/1871 | WRDBD Developments Pty Ltd | 8/12/2021 | pending | 70 | 196 |
Woolgangie | E15/1872 | WRDBD Developments Pty Ltd | 8/12/2021 | pending | 70 | 196 |
Woolgangie | E15/1873 | WRDBD Developments Pty Ltd | 8/12/2021 | pending | 23 | 64.4 |
Woolgangie | E15/1874 | WRDBD Developments Pty Ltd | 8/12/2021 | pending | 61 | 170.8 |
Totals: | 428 | 1198.4 | ||||
Total: | 786 | 2200.8 |
Table 2 - Woolgangie Project Tenement Schedule
Note: WRDBD Developments Pty Ltd is a wholly owned subsidiary of AR3
Australian Rare Earths Limited | Phone: 1300 646 100 |
ABN 73 632 645 302 | Email:hello@ar3.com.au |
Level 10, 111 Gawler Place | Website:www.ar3.com.au |
Adelaide, SA 5000 |
Figure2 - Woolgangie Project Location Plan, with Cross Section Location (RED)
Australian Rare Earths Limited ABN 73 632 645 302
Level 10, 111 Gawler Place Adelaide, SA 5000
Phone: 1300 646 100 Email:hello@ar3.com.au Website:www.ar3.com.au
Dalrymple
The acquisition of 5 tenements, 100km south-west of Bowen, Queensland. The ground comprises an area of 1,505km2 under Exploration Licence application.
A preliminary geological assessment of the region by AR3 identified the presence of felsic volcanics and large-scale alkali granites/granitoids, which are considered prospective for hosting REE. The minerals within these rocks are susceptible to weathering in tropical environments and could potentially mobilise REEs into the developing regolith profile.
Mapping and targeted geochemical sampling will provide insight to the potential for regolith hosted REE mineralisation. Ongoing assessment will be possible via easy access to the tenure area through existing roads and tracks.
Some of the targeted basement sequences are expected to have significant weathering profiles, as follows;
• Marlborough Pocket Granodiorite, a pale pink hornblende, an Intrusive "Caldera" type magmatic chamber with identified Allanite mineralisation presenting as Priority target.
• Expedition Pass Granite, a pale pink leucocratic biotite monzogranite, containing rare pegmatitic lenses, an Intrusive "Caldera" type magmatic chamber presenting as Priority target.
• Leichhardt Range Granite, a pale pink to pink/grey granite, a Permo-Carboniferous leucocratic muscovite granite
• The Bulgonunna Volcanics Suite, Felsites (Lavas, Clastic and Intrusive)
• Pine Creek Granite, a pale pink/grey Monzogranite, Permo-Carboniferous
Tenement ID | Project | Holder | Application Date | Grant Date | Area km2 | State | Total |
EPM 28165 | Dalrymple | 3QRDBD Developments Pty Ltd | 3/12/2021 | Pending | 301.5 | QLD | |
EPM 28166 | Dalrymple | 2QRDBD Developments Pty Ltd | 3/12/2021 | Pending | 321.2 | QLD | |
EPM 28167 | Dalrymple | 4QRDBD Developments Pty Ltd | 3/12/2021 | Pending | 249.9 | QLD | |
EPM 28168 | Dalrymple | 5QRDBD Developments Pty Ltd | 3/12/2021 | Pending | 311.2 | QLD | |
EPM 28169 | Dalrymple | 1QRDBD Developments Pty Ltd | 3/12/2021 | Pending | 321.4 | QLD | 1505.1 |
Table 3 - Dalrymple Project Tenement Schedule
Note: QRDBD Developments Pty Ltd is a wholly owned subsidiary of AR3
Australian Rare Earths Limited | Phone: 1300 646 100 |
ABN 73 632 645 302 | Email:hello@ar3.com.au |
Level 10, 111 Gawler Place | Website:www.ar3.com.au |
Adelaide, SA 5000 |
This is an excerpt of the original content. To continue reading it, access the original document here.
Attachments
- Original Link
- Original Document
- Permalink
Disclaimer
Australian Rare Earths Ltd. published this content on 28 March 2022 and is solely responsible for the information contained therein. Distributed by Public, unedited and unaltered, on 28 March 2022 22:03:25 UTC.