‘Outstanding’: Drill results at OD6 Metals’ Prop prospect expand high-grade rare earths footprint

• Grades of up to 4,159ppm Total Rare Earth Oxides (TREO) have been returned at the Prop prospect
• Returned assays in 61% of holes show grades in excess of 1,000ppm TREO
• Substantial potential for mineral resource expansion based on these results

OD6 Metals has received results from 78 holes with grades up to 4,159ppm Total Rare Earth Oxides (TREO) and thickness up to 56m at consistently high grades, confirming the global significance of the Prop discovery.  

OD6 Metals’ (ASX:OD6) Prop prospect is within the wider Splinter Rocks project near Esperance in WA is emerging as one of the largest, highest-grade clay-hosted rare earth projects in Australia.

The company unveiled a 344Mt maiden resource at 1,308ppm TREO in July, less than one year after first drilling a handful of near-surface 60-70m thick mineralised clay basins.

Unlike hard rock resources, clay rare earths contain the right rare earth elements needed for permanent magnets – a booming market thanks to their use in EVs and wind turbines.

These deposits are potentially easier and more cost effective to mine.

Clays confirmed across 11km

Around 96% of the holes in the latest drilling program at the Prop prospect encountered clays with rare earth concentrations >300ppm TREO, with 61% of holes intersecting rare earth concentrations >1,000ppm TREO.

Phase 3 drilling has also confirmed clays across a 11km length at Prop with widths between 4-5km where high-grade MREO represents an average of ~21% of TREO grade.

Significant high-grade intersections include:

• 56m at 1,111ppm TREO (23.40% MREO) from surface, including 30m at 1,646ppm TREO (24% MREO) from 24m; and
• 40m at 1,308ppm TREO (21.9% MREO) from 21m, including 28m at 1,646pp, TREO (21.8% MREO) from 33m.

These results strongly correlate with interpreted data from Airborne Electromagnetic Survey (AEM), validating geological modelling and exploration program design.

Rare earth footprint keeps growing

“These outstanding drill results have further confirmed the high-grade clay hosted rare earth nature of the Prop prospect,” OD6 managing director Brett Hazelden says.

“It is important to recognise how materially these results expand the extent of the current footprint of high-grade mineralisation at the Prop prospect, offering real and substantial potential for resource expansion.

“OD6 is grateful for the continued support from the Department of Mines, Industry Regulation and Safety whose funding, via the Exploration Incentive Scheme, helped facilitate the expedition of this drill program.”

Results remain outstanding for 67 holes of the drilling program at the Centre prospect, which also stepped out from the existing extent of the MRE boundary.

Resource at Splinter Rock could get even bigger

Breakaway Research, a Sydney-based equity research company providing coverage on junior resources companies, believes the resource at Splinter Rock could increase dramatically to place OD6 far ahead of most, or all, of its peers.

“Scale matters for this category of low-grade rare-earths project,” Breakaway senior analyst Mike Harrowell says in a research note.

“At 5mtpa, the OD6 resource grade of 1,308ppm TREO and recovery of 60% would produce 3,900tpa rare earth oxide equivalent.”

For context, Ionic Rare Earths’ (ASX:IXR) Makuutu project feasibility study is based on 5mtpa producing 1,300tpa rare earth oxide.

“Having a large resource will allow OD6 to chase the best metallurgy rather than being forced to chase tonnage,” Harrowell says.

This article was developed in collaboration with OD6 Metals, a Stockhead advertiser at the time of publishing.

This article does not constitute financial product advice. You should consider obtaining independent advice before making any financial decisions.

The post ‘Outstanding’: Drill results at OD6 Metals’ Prop prospect expand high-grade rare earths footprint appeared first on Stockhead.

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