Auric strikes rare earths at Goldfields project

Auric Mining has returned positive results for rare earths from the company’s latest drill campaign at its Chalice West project including a 4m hit at 3591 parts-per-million total rare earth oxides, or “TREO” from 41m.

The 4m section includes a high-grade 1m intercept at an outstanding 11038ppm TREO from 42m with an impressive 22 per cent magnetic rare earth oxides, or “MREO”.

Additional assay highlights contain a 17m intersection going 1699ppm TREO and 21 per cent MREO whilst magnetic granite from bottom-of-hole samples recorded up to 1595ppm TREO.

The latest assay results are from 95 bottom-of-hole composite samples and 178 one-metre interval regolith specimens for 19 holes. Results are pending for a further 108 bottom-of-hole segments and 193 one-metre interval portions.

Auric says the anomalous rare earth results coincide with a 7km north-west trending magnetic feature that remains open in all directions.

Just last month the company completed a 7227m air-core drilling campaign for a total of 227 holes drilled at the project. Auric says the latest assays also defined a gold anomalism over a strike length of 5km. Results of up to 168 parts-per-billion gold have identified a new area of exploration around 1.2km south of any previous drilling.

The Chalice West project consists of three exploration tenements over a total of 408 square kilometres around 50km north-west of Norseman.

Auric sealed a deal to pick up all of the mineral rights associated with Chalice West’s tenements in May after entering into an option agreement with private explorer Mineral Business Development.

The area was once deemed exclusively prospective for gold, a straightforward deduction given its proximity to AXS-listed Chalice Gold Mine’s nearby operation which has produced over 672,000 ounces of gold over a period of just seven years.

At the time the explorer argued the deal was sweetened by the fact the ground was also prospective for a smorgasbord of in-demand energy metals including nickel, lithium and clay-hosted rare earths mineralisation.

Auric listed on the ASX in 2021 and is part of a growing wave of Australian-based companies seeking to provide a local alternative to China-sourced rare earths. Auric says its rare earths discovery is clay hosted rather than the more traditional hard rock rare earths discoveries. The interest in clay-based operations is centred around the asset’s higher doses of neodymium and praseodymium – crucial ingredients in the production of permanent magnets for electric vehicle motors.

Clay hosted rare earth deposits are mainly mined in southern China and offer less complex extraction and processing circuits when compared to hard-rock rare earths projects that can lead to a lower capital outlay and a shorter pathway to production.

Clay hosted rare earths can also exist over massive horizons.

Auric says it will conduct metallurgical tests and petrographic studies to determine the leachability and nature of its high-grade rare earths mineralisation.

In addition to the Chalice West project, Auric has a number of advanced projects in the Goldfields region. They include the Widgiemooltha gold project that combines 20 tenements with five granted mining leases. The operation houses the company’s Munda deposit. Following re-evaluation of historic drill hole data and two phases of RC drilling by Auric, the Munda resources have been upgraded to 198,700 gold ounces.

Auric’s 100 per cent owned Jeffreys Find project sits 50km north-east of Norseman and combines two tenements including one granted mining lease. The company says gold mineralisation at Jeffreys extends from the surface to at least 110m in vertical depth and is thickest near the surface. The combined inferred and indicated mineral resource estimate for Jeffreys Find is 1.22 million tonnes at 1.22g/t for 47,900 gold ounces. In August the company entered into an agreement with BML Ventures to begin open pit gold mining at the project.

The explorer’s Spargoville project is located 30km north of Widgiemooltha and combines seven tenements. The operation is along strike from the Wattle Dam gold mine that produced 268,000 ounces of gold at 10g/t from 2006 to 2013. Auric says Wattle Dam was one of Australia’s highest-grade mines at that time.

Whilst the company has been gold-focussed in the past and holds a number of prospective-looking gold projects, Auric has been buoyed by the presence of rare earths mineralisation at the Chalice West site.

Rare earths have become a thing this year and whilst still playing second fiddle to lithium, they are fast becoming more and more sought after and sent some share prices all stratospheric during the year.

A clay hosted rare earths discovery by OD6 Metals this year sent that company’s share price running from a six-month low of 15c to touch 70c before retreating a bit.

WA1 Resources share price hiked over 2500 per cent during the year on the back of a rare earths and niobium discovery in Western Australia.

Exactly what mix of rare earths Auric has on its hands at Chalice West will make for interesting news and the market will no doubt eagerly anticipate the remaining samples returning from the lab.

Is your ASX-listed company doing something interesting? Contact: matt.birney@businessnews.com.au