Cadence Minerals plc (LON:KDNC) has noted that Hastings Technology Metals (ASX:HAS), Cadence’s joint venture partner at the Yangibana Rare Earth Project in the Gascoyne region of Western Australia, has announced further significant results for the Simon’s Find deposit as part of the 2020 exploration drilling program for the Yangibana Rare Earths Project in Western Australia.
Cadence Minerals Yangibana Holding:
Cadence owns 30% of 3 Mining Leases, 6 Exploration Licences, which form part of the Yangibana Rare Earth Deposit. Hastings Technology Metals owns the remaining 70%. While the announcement today involves territory not covered by the JV license areas, the developments are nonetheless positive indicators for the future of the joint venture. Further details of our ownership the mineral resources and reserves on our jointly held leases can be found at:
The current mine plan anticipates production to start from our joint venture areas (Yangibana and Yangibana North) in year 6 and continue to the end of mine life (year 13). Further details can be found in the Hastings 2019 Annual Report.
Highlights:
· Results from drilling at Simon’s Find confirm a major 2km long zone of economic mineralisation, significantly expanding the existing resource base across the Yangibana Rare Earths Project.
· Simon’s Find and the recently announced Fraser’s North and South drill results form a continuous zone of economic mineralisation 4km long.
· The Fraser’s – Simon’s Find – Bald Hill trend now forms an 8km-long economic mineralised corridor.
· Simon’s Find results contain world-beating quantities of neodymium (Nd2O3) and praseodymium (Pr6O11) that, when combined, total 52% of the TREO (total rare earth oxides) values. These results are significantly higher than the 40-41% values recorded from the nearby Bald Hill and Frasers deposits.
· High-grade and shallow intersections from Simon’s Find include:
o 2m @ 2.78% TREO from 46m
o 6m @ 1.20% TREO from 43m
- including 4m @ 1.61% TREO
o 4m @ 1.21% TREO from 46m
o 15m @ 0.72% TREO from 37m
- including 6m @ 1.11% TREO
· 2m @ 1.38% TREO from 67m
· 7m @ 0.89% TREO from 31m
- including 2m @ 1.76% TREO
· 3m @ 1.40% TREO from 11m
· 6m @ 0.75% TREO from 39m
- including 2m @ 1.51% TREO
· 83 out of 96 holes (~86%) reported significant intercepts of grades
Simon’s Find – Major Mineralised Trend Defined
Hastings can now report that it has successfully delineated, as a minimum, approximately 2km of economic mineralisation, forming the Simon’s Find resource area through the completion of close-spaced reverse circulation (RC) drilling.
Recent drilling to target ironstone rocks hosting rare earths has returned consistent grades and widths of mineralisation over a 2km-long zone, which remains open along strike and down dip. Results have also confirmed that Simon’s Find includes exceptionally high quantities of neodymium and praseodymium, widely recognised as the two most important rare earths elements required over the next decades to satisfy global demand for electric vehicles, renewable energy projects and industrial automation.
From the results underlying this announcement for Simon’s Find, neodymium and praseodymium (together, “NdPr”) represent approximately 52% of the total rare earths content. This is at least 25% higher than existing results from the nearby Bald Hill and Frasers deposits, which have a NdPr:TREO ratio of approximately 40-41% of total rare earths.
A 40-41% ratio is widely acknowledged as world leading when compared to other known rare earths deposits, which typically report ratios in the 15-25% range. The 52% recorded at Simon’s Find confirms the special and unique geological properties of Yangibana and further underpins Hastings’ accelerated march to becoming Australia’s next rare earths producer.
These new results are expected to substantially add to the 20.86Mt mineral resource1 (see ASX announcement dated 25 February 2020) already confirmed at Yangibana, with a new mineral resource and mining reserve estimate expected to be completed over the coming months.
Simon’s Find is located in close proximity to the site of Yangibana’s proposed processing plant. The nature of Simon’s Find’s softer geological host rocks means this deposit is expected to play an important role during the production start-up phase of Yangibana.
Frasers – Simon’s Find Trend
Drill results released during the year have confirmed that Simon’s Find forms the northern portion of a defined and continuous 4km-long zone of economic mineralisation when including the recently released Fraser’s South and Fraser’s North drilling results.
Frasers – Simon’s Find – Bald Hill Trend
Hastings has now defined a single, largely coherent zone of mineralisation commencing at Fraser’s South and finishing at Bald Hill (the largest of Yangibana’s rare earths deposits) that is approximately 8km in length.
Substantial potential exists for continued exploration throughout this zone, which has demonstrated significant capacity to host rare earths, while opening up enormous opportunities for mineral resource expansions and extensions to Yangibana’s mine life within close proximity of the processing plant location.
This zone has been lightly drilled and, on average, only between 40-70m below the surface. Additional opportunities to the north and south of this trend have been identified by geophysics and ground mapping. Down-dip extensions remain open along the entire 8km of defined mineralisation.
Exploring and delineating the mineralisation in this zone was a key objective of the 2020 exploration drilling program, which has been successfully delivered.
In fact, the 2020 exploration drilling program has been so successful that the vast majority of holes reported to date have delivered intercepts of TREO considered to be economic by the Company.
The full HAS release including detailed tables and graphics can be found at: https://www.investi.com.au/api/announcements/has/986a8ebc-c66.pdf
Hastings Executive Chairman, Charles Lew commented: “Hastings has delivered and exceeded all of its key objectives for the 2020 exploration drilling program. The results from drilling over the past several months have shown the magnitude of the resource potential that exists at Yangibana.”
“Hastings has now defined and delivered a single coherent zone of economic mineralisation trending more than 8km in length from Fraser’s through to Simon’s Find and Bald Hill, with further upside in all areas along this zone to the north, south and at depth.”
“Additionally, the ability to replicate the results from the past few months into other areas of the tenement package remains high, with similar known geological structures demanding additional work.”
“While the average head grades at Simon’s Find results may be lower than at Yangibana’s other deposits, what is important and makes this deposit such a stand-out – in global terms – are the very high levels of neodymium and praseodymium – at 52% of total rare earths reported.”
“Hastings will now start the process of collating the drilling information to define a new mineral resource for Simon’s Find.
“The success at Simon’s Find comes amid a busy period for Hastings as we advance Yangibana’s development by concluding more offtake contracts and settling on a coastal site for our project’s hydrometallurgical plant.”
Cadence Minerals CEO Kiran Morzaria commented: “As Hastings Chairman Charles Lew says, the results from drilling over the past several months have shown the magnitude of the resource potential that exists at Yangibana, and in particular the very high levels of neodymium and praseodymium reported from Simon’s Find.”
“Although the announcement today involves territory not covered by the JV license areas, the developments are nonetheless positive indicators for the future of the joint venture and provides additional validation for our investment strategy into this project. We look forward to further developments.”
