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ABx Group Records Thick Dysprosium and Terbium REE Results at Deep Leads

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THE DRILL SERGEANT: ABx Group (ASX: ABX) has taken receipt of assays from 37 holes carried out at the company’s Deep Leads rare earth elements (REE) project near Launceston, Tasmania.

ABx Group explained this was the first drilling campaign into the untested NW Block of the project, producing several intercepts that were considerably thicker than usual and extend the company’s REE mineralisation across the plateau.

ABx’s stated REE strategy is to produce a mixed rare earth carbonate (MREC) that is enriched in dysprosium (Dy) and terbium (Tb), the two heavy rare earths with the highest global supply risk.

The Dy+Tb exceeds 4.3 per cent of Deep Leads’ total rare earth oxides (TREO), which is the highest proportion of Dy and Tb of any clay-hosted rare earth resource in Australia and high by world standards.

Thick zones of high-grade ionic adsorption clay rare earths with such a high proportion of Dy+Tb are extremely rare.

“Drill results in the NW Block expand the resource outline for the Deep Leads high-grade rare earth zone and also enhance the areal extent from hole DL520,” ABx Group managing director and CEO Mark Cooksey said in the company’s ASX announcement.

Hole DL520 is the nearest hole in NW Block to these new holes that has been tested for extraction during desorption tests.

“DL520 is one of the nearest existing drill holes and is also where rare earth extractions of over 50 per cent were measured using low-acid (pH 4) conditions – confirmed in desorption tests by the Australian Nuclear Science and Technology Organisation (ANSTO) and in-house tests,” Cookesy said.

 

TO READ THE FULL ANNOUNCEMENT: CLICK HERE

 

ABx Group Increases Tasmanian Rare Earth Resources to 89Mt

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THE DRILL SERGEANT: ABx Group (ASX: ABX) released an updated Mineral Resources Estimate (MRE) for the company’s projects in northern Tasmania.

Abx Group, with assistance from consultants, completed an updated resource estimation of the Deep Leads – Rubble Mound and Wind Break rare earth resources located on the outskirts of Launceston.

The estimate is 89 million tonnes averaging 844ppm total rare earth oxides (TREO), from 29 per cent of the mineralised outline being a 70 per cent increase in tonnes and three per cent higher grade than the company’s previous estimate.

“This 70 per cent expansion of our rare earths resource arises from 400 new drillholes and expansion of our mineralised outline by ABx’s proprietary exploration technology,” ABx Group managing director and CEO Mark Cooksey said in the company’s ASX announcement.

“This campaign has enhanced the higher-grade zones that are our top candidates for production studies.

“Because ABx is beginning economic studies, we have introduced a cut-off grade based on the gross value of contained rare earth oxides that allows us to easily vary the in-situ gross dollar value of resource estimates in the higher-grade zones.

“ABx’s resource is exceptionally enriched in permanent magnet rare earths, especially dysprosium and terbium, which have the highest global supply risk and are almost exclusively produced from ionic adsorption clay rare earth deposits in China and Myanmar.

“ABx is focused on creating a rare earths project that can address looming supply shortages of these critical minerals.”

 

TO READ THE FULL ANNOUNCEMENT: CLICK HERE

 

ABx Group Expands High-grade REE Zone at Rubble Mound

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THE DRILL SERGEANT: ABx Group (ASX: ABX) informed punters of announce high-grade rare-earth elements (REE) results from the company’s Deep Leads / Rubble Mound project in Tasmania.

Abx Group recently completed a drilling campaign at Rubble Mound, which enlarged the extent of the Rubble Mound high-grade REE zone within the extensive 52 million tonne Deep Leads-Rubble Mound resource the company released in November last year.

The drilling has also expanded the real extent of the REE mineralisation with the latest drill results again displaying the two rare earths with the most critical supply risk, being dysprosium (Dy) and terbium (Tb) exceeding 4.5 per cent of total rare earth oxides (TREO). Grades of thorium and uranium are also very low.

The company boasted the remains the highest proportion of Dy and Tb of any clay-hosted rare earths resource in Australia, and is very high in global terms.

“It is exciting to see that our exploration program continues to produce outstanding results,” ABx Group managing director and CEO Mark Cooksey said in the company’s ASX announcement.

“A focus of the recent drilling campaign was to expand the Rubble Mound high-grade zone within the existing resource, and this has been achieved.

“A distinctive feature of the ABx deposits is the high proportion of Dy and Tb, and the recent results confirm this pattern.

“We look forward to providing the remainer of the assay results from this drilling campaign, and a resource update, which will include Wind Break for the first time.”

 

TO READ THE FULL ANNOUNCEMENT: CLICK HERE

 

 

ABx Group Increases REE Resource and Claims New Discovery

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THE DRILL SERGEANT: ABx Group (ASX: ABX) has increased the rare earth elements (REE) Resource at the company’s ionic adsorption clay rare earth project in northern Tasmania.

Abx Group announced a 30 per cent increase to the Northern Tasmanian-based Deep Leads and Rubble Mound ionic adsorption clay (IAC) REE Mineral Resource Estimate to 27 million tonnes.

The increase came on the back of assays from 36 drill holes, which the company claimed to have discovered new deposits, increasing the potential for mineralisation to extend over 16 kilometres to the earlier Wind Break discovery.

Of the 36 holes drilled, 69 per cent returned resource grade assays, which Abx noted to be above average for such wide spaced scout drilling in new areas.

“Our northernmost discovery hole, RM302, located five kiolmetres NE of Deep Leads could become our best prospect because it is 11 metres thick and enriched in permanent magnet rare earths, especially dysprosium (Dy) and terbium (Tb),” ABx Group managing director and CEO Mark Cooksey said in the company’s ASX announcement.

“These are highly valuable rare earths and almost exclusively produced from IAC deposits.

“Hole RM302 also indicates that this IAC rare earth mineralisation could extend 16 kilometres to the Wind Break discovery in our new exploration licence application.

“In addition, it is important to note that the cost of extracting rare earths from IAC deposits is highly dependent on the desorption process conditions.

“‘Standard’ desorption conditions include 30 minutes at pH 4 (same acidity as apple juice).

“The ABx deposits have the highest reported extractions under these conditions for any IAC rare earth resource in Australia.

“For other deposits requiring more acidic conditions, the production cost is likely to be substantially higher.

“Not all clays are created equal and very few clay-hosted REE deposits globally are amenable to low-cost benign production methods.”

Abx said its recent exploration activity has increased the target area from 35 square kilometres at Deep Leads-Rubble Mound to over 100sqkm, which also covers the Wind Break discovery.

Subject to a new exploration licence application being granted, ABx indicated it will commence ground exploration of the area, which is anticipated to lead to exploration drilling programs.

ABx is being more selective and targeted in the types of deposits that it will test by drilling.

 

TO READ THE FULL ANNOUNCEMENT: CLICK HERE