US government throws more weight behind Dateline rare earths

Dateline Resources has scored another major political win in its bid to develop the Colosseum rare earths project in California after United States Secretary of the Interior Doug Burgum publicly backed the mine’s revival in a national television appearance.

Appearing on Fox News over the weekend, Burgum, who is also chairman of the powerful National Economic Development Council (NEDC), declared the restart of the Colosseum project as “pivotal” in securing America’s critical mineral future. 

The Secretary underscored the importance of reducing US reliance on overseas rare earth supply chains and spotlighted the Trump administration’s mission to ramp up domestic mineral production.

Shortly after, Dateline’s management met with Burgum in Washington DC, where federal support for the Colosseum project has been put on the fast track. The Secretary has directed the NEDC’s top brass to coordinate efforts across US government agencies to expedite the project’s development, effectively giving Dateline the green light for federal-level collaboration.

Dateline Resources managing director Stephen Baghdadi said: “We thank Secretary Burgum for his leadership and continued engagement with our industry. We intend to work closely with the Trump administration to implement a comprehensive strategy to strengthen the US critical minerals supply chain. With this support, we will do everything we can to help unleash American rare earth independence and ensure the United States secures a reliable, domestic source of these essential materials.” 

Dateline’s fully owned Colosseum project sits in California’s Walker Lane Trend and already has a juicy gold resource of 27.1 million tonnes at 1.26 grams per tonne for 1.1 million ounces of gold. 

Last month, the company upped the gold price assumption on its gold project scoping study to US$2900 (A$4461) per ounce to deliver a whopping net present value of US$550M (A$846M) and a healthy payback of just 19 months.

The project’s potential for a rare earths discovery has lit up the government’s radar, given its striking geological similarities to the US’s only active rare earths mine - the nearby fabled Mountain Pass mine.

Dateline is wasting no time capitalising on its moment in the sun and already has plans underway to start drill testing Colosseum’s rare earths potential. 

The company pointed to the strong federal support as a massive boost to accelerate the project’s permitting, environmental studies and project approvals, potentially shaving years off its development timelines.

Dateline’s strategic position, 10 kilometres from the Mountain Pass mine, also puts it in a prime spot to plug into existing infrastructure and logistics. This would be a huge advantage in the rare earths game, where processing options often cause a major bottleneck.

With Washington on side and drilling on the horizon, Dateline could soon find itself sitting atop a dual-purpose gold and rare earths powerhouse – one with the full weight of the US government behind it.

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