This follows the first diamond hole in the company’s 2022 growth drilling program returning an impressively thick 384.4m intersection grading 4% phosphate and 0.3% total rare earth oxides (TREO) with a high-grade REE zone of 11.6m at 1.9% TREO.
Additionally, reverse circulation drilling at the Phos Dyke returned assays such as 153m at 11% phosphate and 0.4% TREO (CRX0081) and 46m at 1.1% TREO and 15% phosphate within a broader phosphate intercept of 108m at 10% phosphate (CRX0074).
RareX (ASX:REE) believes the multiple broad intercepts over 100m have the potential to significantly expand both the rare earths and phosphate components of the Cummins Range deposit, which currently has a resource of 18.8Mt at 1.15% TREO and 10% phosphate.
“Our deeper drilling has shown that carbonatite pipes are very large mineralising systems capable of hosting millions of tonnes of rare earth oxides and top-quality rock phosphate,” managing director Jeremy Robinson said.
“The phosphate mineralisation on the Phos Dyke is shaping up to be a very large body of phoscorite, with the rare earths-rich carbonatite veins reported in this release and in our last announcement proving to be an added bonus.”
Assays are pending from diamond holes to the southeast, which are closer to the centre of the system.
A Scoping Study for Cummins Range has outlined net present value and internal rate of return – both measures of a project’s profitability – of $633m and 29% respectively.
The wide phosphate and rare earth zone is centred around the 80m wide Rare Dyke, which along with the hanging wall/footwall positions have abundant coarse disseminations of apatite with 26 monazite/bastnasite mineralised zones.
The strongest mineralised zone of 11.6m at 1.9% TREO and 7% phosphate is located on the hanging wall contact of the Rare Dyke.
All drill holes completed up-dip have been stopped in strong phosphate mineralisation, with the footwall position of the Rare Dyke remaining wide open.
Over at the Phos Dyke, an additional rare earths domain is also emerging to the north with the widest intersections being 46m at 1.1% TREO including 1m at 8.2% TREO in hole CRX0075.
