Barkly samples hit lab in resource expansion push
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Murray Region
Barkly Rare Earths sent the first batch of samples from its 10,000-meter resource expansion exercise campaign to the laboratory; This was an important step in the effort to grow the already significant rare earth inventory at the flagship Barkly project in the Northern Territory.
The campaign is designed to test shallow mineralization around the company’s existing 40 million tonnes inferred mineral resource; this mine rates an impressive 2100 parts per million (ppm) of total rare earth oxides (TREO).
Rare earth elements were intersected in previous drillings between these two areas; This indicated the potential for significant lateral expansion along the 20-kilometer corridor in between.
Barkly defined an exploration target that gave an idea of the scale he was pursuing. It ranges from 200 million to 1 billion tonnes at a grade of 1600 to 1900 ppm TREO. If the company can even get close to the lower end of this range, it could potentially be sitting on a significant deposit globally.
‘This is where the campaign progresses from drilled measurements to assay results.’
Craig Wright, managing director of Barkly Rare Earths
The company adopted a two-pronged strategy for the campaign. The first phase will involve drilling a series of deeper, 60-metre holes to provide a stronger geological framework for the existing deposit. The rig will then move on to the main event, a pattern of up to 400 shallow holes with an average depth of just 25 metres, targeting an area called the Emergency Zone.
This Emergency Site lies within a little-explored 20-kilometre corridor connecting two source areas, with the first samples from the program reaching the ALS laboratory in Brisbane for analysis.
Craig Wright, managing director of Barkly Rare Earths, said:: “The objective is clear; test the shallow mineralization around our existing 40 Mt Inferred Resource and generate data to support the resource upgrade later this year.”
What makes the project interesting, Barkly says, is not just the potential scale but also the high proportion of valuable magnet rare earth oxides, which make up 34 percent of the total resource. These are critical elements in the production of high-strength magnets used in everything from electric vehicles to wind turbines.
Critically, initial testing revealed low levels of uranium and thorium; both are often undesirable elements that can make processing difficult.
In another notable milestone, leaching tests achieved a 74 percent extraction rate for magnetized rare earth elements through early-stage enrichment work, producing a mineral concentrate with a significant TREO grade of 29,000 ppm.
In addition, Barkly is armed with two new grants worth $115,000 each, awarded under the Northern Territory’s highly regarded Geophysical and Drilling Collaborations program.
While the company’s core business is the rare earth project, it also operates the Buntine project in the Northern Territory, where it pursues greenfield base metals. In particular, the project’s geology at Buntine is stated to be identical to rocks hosting the world-class McArthur River lead-zinc deposit with polymetallic mineralization already identified over a nine-kilometer strike length. Initial rock crushing returned grades of up to one percent lead, 1760 ppm cobalt and 7100 ppm nickel.
In what appears to be a smart business play, Barkly has transferred uranium rights at its Murphy West project, also in the NT, to ASX-listed explorer DevEx Resources. The deal allows DevEx to spend $3.5 million over five years to earn up to 75 percent interest, giving Barkly a “free shot” at home exploration.
With the first drill samples from the laboratory’s rare earth expansion campaign, the market will be expecting the first assay results to start flowing in shortly.
Barkly has signaled its intention to deliver an updated mineral resource in the final quarter of the year, and given that the company started with 40 million tonnes in the bag, it’s clear the company has a very large exploration target in sight. And with so much possible ground to test, things could soon get very interesting for Barkly as it looks to potentially define a project of global significance.
Is your ASX-listed company doing something interesting? Contact: mattbirney@bullsnbears.com.au
