Dateline rockets to $2B on US gold-rare earths drilling blitz

The market capitalisation of ASX-listed Dateline Resources smashed through the magic $2 billion mark this morning as its share price surged to a new high of 59 cents a share - an incredible return of 14,700 per cent since the start of April. 

The catalyst for the latest move was news that the company has launched a multi-pronged drill assault that could pave the way to early production at its Colosseum gold and rare earths project in California. 

Colosseum is already home to a 27.1-million-tonne gold resource grading 1.26 grams per tonne (g/t) for 1.1 million ounces, with more than two-thirds in the measured and indicated categories. It is now bristling with rigs as the company attacks the project from all angles.

On the gold exploration front, Dateline says the drill bit is aimed at sniffing out high-priority gold-bearing breccia pipes it recently unearthed from a geophysical survey. 

According to the company, these gold-bearing anomalies could extend mineralisation well beyond the existing resource, with multiple structures now in the crosshairs for grade and continuity testing.

But the real wildcard lies just north of the gold resource, where the rigs will be out and about in the hunt for a potentially game-changing rare earths discovery. 

The same magneto-telluric (MT) geophysical survey successfully picked up several deep targets sitting near mapped fenite dykes, which the company regards as highly prospective for rare earths. 

When tested, anomaly 2200N lit up like a Christmas tree from 1000m depth to near surface and appears to be carbonatite-hosted, just like MP Materials’ famed Mountain Pass rare earths mine, only 10 kilometres away.

A blend of infill, verification and step-out holes will also be drilled to update the existing gold resource and provide critical geotechnical data for mine design as part of an all-important bankable feasibility study. Core from Dateline’s own diamond rig is being used to sharpen its resource modelling and assess rock mechanics.

Meanwhile, a high-powered Schramm T-45WWS reverse circulation rig from drilling heavyweight Major Drilling is already on-site, delivering fast, big-volume metres. A second similar rig is now on its way to further help turbocharge the campaign.

Dateline Resources managing director Stephen Baghdadi said: “This is an exciting phase for Dateline as we ramp up a major drill program at Colosseum to accelerate our bankable feasibility study and bring us closer to production. We’re also eager to drill the newly identified gold and rare earth targets, which have the potential to add substantial value as we advance this project.” 

The first batches of drill samples are already in the lab, with assays expected soon. Dateline is also gearing up for an induced polarisation survey to eke out near-surface sulphide-rich zones that might have been missed by the broader MT work - potentially identifying new gold or rare earth targets.

With drilling accelerating, new rigs rolling in and high-value targets in both gold and rare earths, news flow from the drilling program is likely to stay strong as the company sprints toward feasibility, development and production.

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