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St George Mining Resumes REE Drilling at Destiny Project

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THE DRILL SERGEANT: St George Mining (ASX: SGQ) has drilling underway at the company’s 100 per cent-owned rare earth element (REE) Destiny project in the Eastern Goldfields region of Western Australia.

St George Mining’s first drill program at Destiny in December 2023 made a breakthrough discovery of clay-hosted REE with the wide-spaced drilling intersecting high-grade total rare earth oxides (TREO).

Drilling now underway is aiming to further define the near-surface high-grade zones of TREO encountered by the previous campaign.

A minimum of 26 air core drill holes are planned, from which laboratory assays are expected within approximately six weeks of the completion of drilling.

“We are excited to be drilling again at the Destiny project with a clear target to further scope out the extent of the high-grade REE mineralisation we discovered just a few months ago,” St George Mining executive chairman John Prineas said in the company’s ASX announcement.

“The potential scale of Destiny is impressive with mineralisation already confirmed along a 7km-stretch of the Ida Fault zone, with a further 70km of prospective geology exposure within the project yet to be drill-tested.

“The mineralisation contains a high proportion of magnetic rare earths – which are highly sought after for application in clean energy solutions – to add to the attractiveness of the project.

“Work is also underway to investigate newly identified large, circular magnetic features at Destiny.

“These are located proximal to the Ida Fault, a regional-scale crustal shear zone that could have acted as the conduit for late-stage intrusions like carbonatites.

“We look forward to reporting exploration results, including from this follow-up drill program and assays from the just-completed augur campaign, in due course.”

 

TO READ THE FULL ANNOUNCEMENT: CLICK HERE

 

St George Mining Makes High-Grade REE Discovery at Destiny

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THE DRILL SERGEANT: St George Mining (ASX: SGQ) has made a clay-hosted REE system discovery at the company’s 100 per cent-owned Destiny project in the Eastern Goldfields region of Western Australia.

St George Ming acquired the Destiny project, originally called Woolgangie, earlier this year and in September commenced on-the-ground exploration activities.

The discovery came via recent drilling activity that intersected thick zones of high-grade Total Rare Earth Oxide (TREO) – up to 42m thick that has been shown to be hosted in a thick, near-surface clay zone confirmed by drilling over a 7km-long strike with mineralisation open in all directions.

Assay results include:

WGAC0001
8m at 1,673ppm TREO, 342ppm magnetic rare earth oxide (MREO) from 24m;

WGAC0026
30m at 1,885ppm TREO, 399ppm MREO from 20m, including 6m at 3,578ppm TREO, 755ppm MREO from 32m, and including 2m at 5,125ppm TREO, 1,199ppm MREO from 32m;

WGAC0030
42m at 1,832ppm TREO, 351ppm MREO from 12m, including 14m at 2,622ppm TREO, 515ppm MREO from 38m; and

WGAC0100
29m at 1,042ppm TREO, 200ppm MREO from 14m.

“These are ground-breaking results for the company in our first-ever drill program at the Destiny project, with high-grade rare earths confirmed along a seven kilometres-long strike of the Ida Fault,” St George Mining executive chairman John Prineas said in the company’s ASX announcement.

“The high grades returned in the assays are very exciting.

“Together with the scale of the prospective geology – which may extend for more than 70 kilometres – the potential of the project is impressive.

“Importantly, the assays show a high proportion of sought-after magnetic rare earths – a feature that could be a huge value driver for the project.

“The flat-lying nature of the REE mineralisation and the host clay zone allow for a fairly simple follow-up exploration program of drilling along strike as well as infill drilling.

“We want to be back drilling at Destiny early in 2024 to unlock the full potential of this exciting REE discovery.

“The REE project is complementary to our lithium and nickel assets, enhancing St George’s position as a high-impact explorer of multiple battery metals in the Tier 1 jurisdiction of Western Australia.

“The Destiny project covers 3,350 square kilometres and takes in more than 90 kilometres of the Ida fault – a regional scale crustal shear zone that is gaining increased interest as a control on major mineral deposits in Western Australia.

“We are excited to control more than 90 kilometres of the Ida Fault at our Destiny project – and another 30 kilometres strike at our Mt Alexander project – with advanced targets for lithium, rare earths, nickel and copper.”

 

TO READ THE FULL ANNOUNCEMENT: CLICK HERE

 

Blackstone Minerals Inks Vietnam REE Menage a Trois

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THE BOURSE WHISPERER: Blackstone Minerals (ASX: BSX has joined a three-way Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) to cooperate on opportunities to develop a fully integrated rare earths mine to metals value chain in Vietnam.

Blackstone has entered the MoU with Vietnam Rare Earths JSC (VTRE) and ASX-listed, Australian Strategic Materials (ASX: ASM).

Blackstone brings its upstream mining and processing experience to the MoU table, with a world class in-country team located within the Northwest Vietnam rare earth district.

VTRE owns and operates the only Vietnamese midstream rare earths refinery and is seeking a strategic partner to develop upstream mining and processing capability.

ASM is an emerging vertically integrated producer of critical metals for advanced and clean technologies with a deep understanding of downstream processing of rare earths and the rare earth market.

Vietnam boasts the world’s largest rare earth element (REE) Reserves outside of China, the majority of which sit in the Northwest Region of the country, close to Son La Province where Blackstone’s Ta Khoa nickel project is located.

It is thought numerous potentially very high-grade REE deposits are available to be permitted and developed by companies that can demonstrate a full value chain capability and deliver a “mine to metal” REE hub in Vietnam.

VTRE is a mover and shaker in Vietnam and has owned and operated the country’s only midstream REE refinery for the past 12 years with the vision to become a prestige producer and supplier of rare earth products and expand the product ranges to deliver multi options for customer needs whilst focussing on researching and using advanced technology for production.

In April 2023, VTRE entered into a binding agreement with ASM for the supply of rare earth oxides with the intention to progress long term supply agreements potentially utilising Vietnam’s natural resources.

“It is not often that you find a potential partnership in which the strategic advantages and core competencies of each party are so complementary,” Blackstone Minerals managing director Scott Williamson said in the company’s ASX announcement.

“For Blackstone, a potential move into Rare Earths in Vietnam aligns with our Technology Mineral strategy and is synergistic to our Ta Khoa project and our existing relationships in the EV industry; for VTRE, teaming up with Blackstone gives VTRE access to our extensive knowledge in ESG management, mining, minerals processing and refining; for ASM, it is a great opportunity to extend their relationship with VTRE and in to progress their vision of full vertical integration in critical minerals.

“With this MoU, Blackstone, VTRE and ASM will progress discussions with the view of potentially establishing a world leading fully integrated rare earths business.”

 

 

TO READ THE FULL ANNOUNCEMENT: CLICK HERE