Results are in following the October-November 2023 drilling campaign of American Rare Earths Ltd (ASX:ARR, OTCQB:ARRNF) at Overton Mountain, in the broader Halleck Creek Rare Earths Project area in Wyoming, and they have been described as "exceptional".
High-grade rare earths
The results, which include 11,040 parts per million (ppm) total rare earth oxide (TREO), confirm higher-grade rare earth mineralisation from surface, remaining open at depth.
The company has now received assays for all 15 reverse circulation (RC) holes in the program, which were drilled to 102 metres for a total of 1,530 metres.
Major intersections from this batch reinforce the strong results recorded following diamond core drilling, and ARR is now confident of a significant measured resource.
The drill holes were spaced between 50 and 75 metres apart and demonstrated vertical and lateral continuity across the exploration area.
Across the 15 holes, there was an average TREO value 24% higher than that of the company’s previous resource estimate, which came in at 3,309 ppm TREO.
Indeed, nine of the holes exhibit an average TREO value of greater than 4,000 ppm, using a cutoff value of 1,500 ppm.
Resource upgrade expected
The addition of the final RC assays will be a significant contribution to upgrading the company’s current 1.43-billion-tonne resource.
What’s more, the homogenous nature of the deposit lends itself to low-cost, near-zero strip ratio mining operations.
The average TREO grade increased 26% to 4,179 ppm for the entire exploration program, with a highest-grade assay of 11,040 ppm TREO.
There is also good neodymium and praseodymium (NdPr) distribution, which registered at 23% across the area.
Several holes uncovered grades exceeding 1500 ppm TREO along nearly their entire 102-metre length, including:
- 102 metres at 5,472 ppm TREO;
- 100.5 metres at 4,493 ppm TREO;
- 102 metres at 4,291 ppm TREO; and
- 100.5 metres at 4,281 ppm TREO.
Expectations exceeded
“Exceptional results from the recent resource upgrade drilling campaign at the Halleck Creek resource area have not only surpassed our expectations, but are expected to exceed our previous resource estimates," said CEO Donald Swartz.
"The average TREO values of the RC holes, especially HC23-OM044's outstanding [102-metre] intercept, demonstrate the potential of this project.”
“These results along with the recently announced diamond drilling results provide us confidence to be able to provide shareholders with a significant upgrade to our JORC resource estimates, which is expected in Q1 2024.”