The Western Australian Government will pay for up to 50 per cent of an exploration drilling program to be conducted by Northern Minerals, a rare earths explorer, as per the Exploration Incentive Scheme.
The Exploration Incentive Scheme (EIS) is an initiative that was created by the WA Government in April 2009 that aims to encourage exploration in the state for the long-term sustainability of its resources sector.
EIS will pay up to $180,000 to co-fund Northern Minerals’ drilling program, which will take place at the Browns Range rare earths project in the east Kimberley region of WA.
The program is designed to test for structurally controlled hydrothermal feeder systems with associated heavy rare earth mineralisation below the Dazzler deposit, located 15km south of Browns Range’s Wolverine deposit.
Dazzler was previously drilled between 2018 and 2020 to define its current inferred mineral resource estimate (MRE), which is 0.21 million tonnes (Mt) at 2.33 per cent total rare earth oxide (TREO) for 5000 tonnes TREO reported above a cut-off grade of 0.15 per cent TREO.
“The new drill program includes five holes, each of between 200m and 250m depth for an overall total of 1150 metres of diamond drilling,” Northern Minerals said.
“All required approvals were received, with drilling having now commenced.”
Browns Range is poised to become a major producer of dysprosium and terbium, two highly sought-after magnet materials used for the momentum of electric vehicles, wind turbines and specialist defence applications.
Northern Minerals is finalising a MRE update and a refreshed definitive feasibility study for Browns Range.
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