ABx Group (ASX: ABX) has received an outstanding 17,333 ppm TREO assay result from its recent drill program of 18 holes.
This programme was designed to explore an area west of hole RM302, which was ABx’s previous best assay result.
The assay results in hole RM336 are four times higher grade than ABx’s previous highest rare earth (REE) grades.
Results from this drilling campaign have given the ABx exploration team further encouragement that we have located another high-grade zone to complement those at Deep Leads, Rubble Mound and Windbreak within an exploration target area that exceeds 100 sq. km and is only partly evaluated to date.
Hole RM336 contained extraordinarily high grades grades of the two most critical rare earth elements, dysprosium and terbium: up to 819ppm Dy2O3 and up to 138ppm Tb4O7. ABx’s rare earth discoveries in Tasmania are heavily enriched Dy and Tb.
Resource Modelling
An update resource estimation process is underway to identify the high- grade thick zones within the widespread resource and to identify those areas that require follow- up.
Extraction Testwork
ABx has commenced research testwork to assess the trade-off between cost of extraction and the value of the concentrate produced whilst using benign leaching methods.
“Our ionic adsorption clay rare earths resources are exceptionally enriched in the two most critical rare earths, namely Dy and Tb. Hole RM336 is our most enriched intercept to date, with grades that I believe are unrivalled in Australia,” Managing Director and CEO, Mark Cooksey, said.
“These latest results have confirmed that ABx’s exploration technology is unravelling the genesis of this unique rare earths resource and leading us to the richer, thicker rare earths mineralisation.”
Next steps
In addition to planned exploration drilling to the west of RM336, the exploration licence application covering the 16 km extension from Deep Leads / Rubble Mound to the Wind Break REE discovery area, which will expand the rare earths target area from 35 sq. km to more than 100 sq. km, remains in progress. However, the rare earths target area also has potential to expand significantly west of RM336.
