White Cliff joins Esperance rare earths hunt

White Cliff Minerals has added to its rare earth portfolio after acquiring the Lake Tay project in addition to applying for a further 10 exploration licences surrounding the area 120km south-west of Norseman.

The company has signed a binding agreement with Hurricane Prospecting for the purchase of the three granted exploration licences that make up the project for $30,000 in cash, $125,000 in White Cliff shares and 2 per cent of net smelter rights.

Previous air-core drilling by Magnetic Resources at the site in 2008 returned highly anomalous rare earth results including a 4m hit at an impressive 1012 parts-per million total rare earth oxides. An additional five previously drilled holes also recorded 4m intercepts above 500ppm total rare earth oxides.

White Cliff says the entire project area is considered prospective for ionic clay-hosted rare earth deposits however it remains relatively under-explored. The only reported exploration in the area has been by Magnetic Resources and Uranex.

Clay-hosted rare earths are generally considered to be a cheaper bulk mining proposition with a relatively simple process flow sheet.

The company is currently preparing for a field mapping and sampling program at the site scheduled to begin in weeks.

White Cliff Minerals Technical Director, Ed Mead said: “The wider area, including our own applications, is significantly underexplored considering the historical composite (partial) REE results generated by Magnetic Resources, and the fact that there has been such a land grab for ionic clay REE projects to the south and southwest.”

The Lake Tay project sits about 50km north-west of Meeka Metals’ Cascade rare earths project. Notable strikes from Cascade include 16m at 2223ppm TREO from a shallow depth of 44m.

Earlier this year ASX-listed OD6 locked in two significant tenement packages in the highly prospective rare earths region near Esperance with its Splinter Rock and Grass Patch projects.

As the global economies seek to temper rising emissions, commodities such as rare earths are expected to underpin greener energy solutions and therefore face a massive supply deficit – creating an obvious dilemma for a market in dire need of more product.

Recent forecasts suggest the transition from carbon to renewable energy could push the demand for magnet rare earths to 250,000 tonnes by 2035 – about triple that of present requirements.

White Cliff is quickly establishing itself as a player in the WA rare earths scene. The company is closing in on a maiden 100-hole, 3000m air-core campaign at its Hines Hill rare earths project about 200km east of Perth. Rock chip samples have also confirmed the presence of anomalous rare earths for the explorer at its Yinnetharra project about 100km north-east of Gascoyne Junction.

Whilst the Lake Tay acquisition is still subject to shareholder approval, White Cliff has moved quickly to snap up around 1850 square kilometres of land in an area that has shown the potential to become a significant rare earths province in the south of WA.

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