West Cobar Metals’ maiden drilling has returned up to 2626 ppm TREO at the Newmont and O’Connor REE clay prospects from its Salazar Clay Rare Earth Element Project, northeast of Western Australia’s southern coastal town of Esperance in Western Australia.
The phase 1 9342m program is intended to extend and infill the existing 43.5 million tonnes at the 1192ppm Newmont Deposit while also investigating potential mineralisation at the promising O’Connor licence area (E63/1469).
The latest high-grade results from 283 air core holes add to stellar assay grades as high as 10,963ppm TREO announced in February.
Results from the latest batch of assays (68 holes from the Newmont deposit)
- 15m of 1028ppm TREO1 from 17m in SZA027
- 15m of 1560ppm TREO from 13m in SZA032
- 7m of 2626ppm TREO from 18m in SZA055
- 11m of 1415ppm TREO from 8m in SZA063
“We continue to be highly encouraged by the assay results coming from the Salazar project, which still represent less than 35% of the total number of drill holes completed,” West Cobar Metals Non-Executive Chairman Rob Klug said.
“We are seeing significant thicknesses and REE grades extending outside the existing Inferred Resource at Newmont, which may be included in the Resource upgrade, to be undertaken once all the remaining assays are received.”
The remaining assays (175 holes from Newmont) are expected to be received during March 2023
Assay results will be integrated with the historical data with an Inferred Newmont Resource update expected during Q2 2023.
Rare Earth Elements Market
Increasing demand for rare earth elements across a wide range of industries is expected to support the long-term outlook for the market. With the looming spectre of a renewed U.S.-China trade war, the United States and European countries have invested in developing their rare earth supply chains, including expanding production capacities and investments into rare earth exploration companies domestically and abroad.
Industries including energy, healthcare, defence and aerospace, and electronics are responsible for the substantial market, particularly for rare earth magnets, which are expected to grow due to their high efficiency in producing clean energy. Additionally, rare earth compounds continue to be used in medical applications such as MRI imaging and military and aerospace applications such as guided missiles, sensors and avionics.
About West Cobar Metals
West Cobar Metals Limited operates as a minerals exploration company in Australia. It explores copper, lead, gold, silver, and base metals. The company holds interests in the Bulla Park project with four granted exploration licenses comprising EL 8642, EL 9195, EL 9281, and EL 9260, which covers an area of 518 square kilometres; the Mount Jack project with EL 8896 granted exploration license covering an area of 62 square kilometres; Cawkers Well with two granted exploration licenses, EL 9197, and EL 9260, which covers an area of 154 square kilometres; and Nantilla project with EL 9179 granted exploration license covering an area of 176 square kilometres. The company was incorporated in 2021 and is based in Perth, Australia.
