The updated indicated and inferred resource for Cummins Range is 519 million tonnes at 0.32% total rare earth oxide and 4.6% phosphorous pentoxide for 1.6Mt of contained TREO and 24Mt of contained phosphate.
Neodymium-praseodymium comprises 22%, or 360,000t, of the TREO content.
The resource update encompassed an update to the Rare Dyke resource and the addition of the 105Mt Phos Dyke resource.
The Phos Dyke resource includes an indicated component of 21Mt at 8% phosphorous pentoxide and 0.36% TREO with 25% NdPr and 8% heavy REO.
Cummins Range’s high NdPr and HREO content results in a basket price of US$34.20 per kilogram, based on an NdPr price of $110/kg.
The Cummins Range resource has increased by 1120% since 2019.
“Our exploration efforts at Cummins Range have delivered us a terrific result, reflecting both a huge amount of work by Guy Moulang’s team and the vision of our chairman, Jeremy Robinson,” RareX CEO James Durrant said.
“Cummins Range now stands out as a large and attractive source of both rare earths and phosphates, with the updated global mineral resource estimate providing an incredible foundation to move the project firmly into the development chapter.
“We are very excited to deliver this result for our shareholders, demonstrating that RareX has ownership of the largest undeveloped rare earths asset in Australia, with significant quantities of contained rare earth oxides and phosphate giving us exposure to two global mega-trends, being decarbonisation and the requirement to feed a rapidly growing global population.”
RareX is looking at a staged development approach for the Cummins Range project to reflect its size and phosphate content and is working on a scoping study.
Stage one envisages a fast-tracked direct shipping ore phosphate operation, while stage two would involve phosphate beneficiation, followed by rare earth beneficiation in stage three.
RareX aims to announced revised project economics this financial year and a feasibility study on stage one by the end of 2023.
The company flagged the potential to be in DSO production by 2025.
A definitive feasibility study on the second and third stages will be complete in the first half of 2025.
RareX had cash and listed investments worth A$7.4 million at the end of March.
