Rare earths and antimony hits fuel Locksley US growth story
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Murray Region
Locksley Resources has confirmed high-grade neodymium and praseodymium-enriched rare earth mineralization at its El Campo mine in the Americas.
The company has also successfully expanded the rich antimony trends at the nearby Desert Antimony Mine (DAM), which is part of the larger Mojave project in California.
The recent maiden diamond drilling program at El Campo successfully confirmed that this light rare earth system reflects the style of the prominent Mountain Pass carbonatite system. Such geological structures host most of the world’s rare earths.
The program’s lead drill intersection is a 7.20-meter large spire that graded 2.93 percent of total rare earth oxides (TREO) from 35.40 m.
‘We are evaluating the REE opportunity in the context of our evolving understanding of the Mountain Pass-style magmatic system at El Campo.’
Ian Stockton, non-executive technical director of Locksley Resources
This hit had a higher grade 3.75 meter slice from 37m with a 4.45 per cent TREO rating and a 0.70m internal peak from 40.05m with a 6.03 per cent TREO rating.
A second puncture also hit the system, returning 0.90 meters from 107.30 meters to 1.09 per TRO. According to management, drilling confirmed that rare earth mineralization extends well below the surface and remains open along strike and at depth within the corridor.
Remarkably, analysis shows that neodymium and praseodymium account for roughly 25 percent of TREO in major drilling interventions. This is important because rare earth oxides with neodymium and praseodymium magnets are extremely critical for permanent magnets, defense technologies, robotics and advanced manufacturing.
Locksley says the results support the interpretation of a potentially larger primary carbonatite system located deeper in the traces.
El Campo is strategically located just 3.5 miles southeast of MP Materials’ massive Mountain Pass mine, the only operating mine in the United States producing rare earths.
Additionally, the company took final analysis from the last two holes of the initial eight-hole diamond drilling program at DAM and successfully confirmed the continuity of high-grade stibnite (bedrock for antimony) along strike to the south and beneath historic underground workings.
One hole successfully drilled subvertical quartz-stibnite veins in granite gneiss, achieving an upper stroke of 0.30 m; It exhibits an impressive 6.44 percent antimony from 65.3 m; A 0.30 m section from 50.70 m also contains 2.90 percent grading antimony.
Ian Stockton, non-executive technical director at Locksley Resources, said: “Diamond drilling at the El Campo mine represents the first test of depth extensions of known REE mineralization exposed at surface. Diamond drilling at DAM represents the first test of antimony mineralization beneath historical workings.”
Management says both drilling results support the company’s broader US critical mineral exploration strategy.
Beyond the immediate drilling zones at El Campo and DAM, Locksley’s broader Mojave project area covers a highly prospective 40 square kilometres.
Ongoing regional target creation efforts are ongoing using the thorium radiometric process developed to search for priority targets of interest throughout the apartment buildings.
Locksley’s next steps will focus on updating its 3D geological models for both candidates to assist with future incremental drilling targeting.
In addition, the company plans to combine detailed magnetic and gravity datasets with a high-resolution ground scintillometry survey at El Campo; thus aiming to improve the understanding of the project’s structural controls and identify the most promising drilling targets for the next round of exploration. Metallurgical and mineralogical evaluations on representative mineralized core samples are also planned.
Locksley’s other assets include the new option Iron Duke copper-gold projects in Tottenham and New South Wales. The flagship Tottenham asset hosts a mineral resource of 9.86 million tonnes grading 0.72 per cent copper.
The company recently announced that it will shortly commence a 2000-metre maiden drilling campaign at Iron Duke to test extensive historic mineralization across the newly secured 188.3 square kilometers of prospective tenure.
With the United States heavily prioritizing secure domestic supply chains for both rare earths and antimony to achieve critical mineral independence, Locksley appears to be in the right place at the right time.
The market should expect a steady stream of regional targeting news as the company continues to peel back the layers of these multiple commodity systems in the Mojave.
Is your ASX-listed company doing something interesting? Contact: mattbirney@bullsnbears.com.au
