RareX Limited (ASX: REE) has kick started its 2022 field season at its 100%- owned Cummins Range Rare Earths Project in Western Australia, with the largest drilling programme in the Project’s history now underway.
The programme will quickly ramp up with up to three rigs expected to be in operation through until October to drill out the Exploration Target of 23Mt at 1.6% TREO to 41Mt at 2.4% TREO, positioning Cummins Range as one of the largest rare earths deposits in Australia.
The potential quantity and grade of the Exploration Target is conceptual in nature, and there has been insufficient exploration to estimate a Mineral Resource and it is uncertain if further exploration will result in the estimation of a Mineral Resource.
The exploration programme is fully-funded by the company’s recent capital raising of A$10.6 million.
Managing Director, Jeremy Robinson, said RareX has noted recent increases in Government support in the critical minerals sector including rare earths. This ongoing transformation in terms of support and the significant change in the financial ecosystem for the critical materials sector is highlighted by the fact that two Australian peers in the rare earth sector recently secured significant financing support from the Australian Government.
The strong underlying increase in demand for rare earths – fuelled by the rapid transition towards electric mobility, spearheaded by electric vehicles – has been reflected in a continuous price increase since April 2020.
The price for 1kg NdPr oxide has increased from US$37/kg NdPr Oxide to US$138/kg NdPr Oxide, representing a price increase of approximately 370%.
These recent events clearly show that we are witnessing a fundamental change in the Australian critical materials space,” Mr Robinson said.
“We believe that RareX can play a vital role in this sector through the development of our Cummins Range Project. We are excited to have commenced this fully funded important drilling programme to take the deposit to the next level as a globally significant critical minerals project.”