Frontier launches WA strategic minerals hunt
Frontier launches WA strategic minerals hunt | The West AustralianFrontier Resources’ hunt for strategic minerals linked to the “electrification” of global economies is off to a solid start after first pass reconnaissance rock chip sampling at its Gascoyne project in Western Australia identified potential rare earth element host rocks. The company recently entered an agreement to acquire the project in addition to other tenure prospective for high purity alumina, or “HPA”, also in WA.
Frontier is set to secure its Gascoyne rare earths project and its Koolya kaolin and HPA project west of Kalgoorlie after earlier this month moving to acquire 100 per cent of private group Dalkeith Capital - the applicant for all tenements at the two projects.
Perth-based Frontier says the projects complement its other recent acquisition of the Murraydium rare earths project in South Australia.
Geological mapping and the helicopter-supported rock chip sampling at Gascoyne have already wrapped up with early signs appearing to bode well for the company.
Management says the campaign has identified outcropping rocks interpreted to represent Yangibana style ironstones known to host rare earth mineralisation nearby.
Assay results from the sampling are anticipated in the coming weeks.
Frontier’s Gascoyne tenure takes in about 230 square kilometres of the prospective proterozoic Durlacher Supersuite lithology that also hosts the adjoining “world class” Yangibana rare earths deposit operated by ASX-listed, Hastings Technology Metals.
The rare earths-bearing Yangibana ironstones, located within the Durlacher Supersuite lithology, were first targeted in the region for their base metal potential in the 1970s.
Hastings’ rare earths discovery at Yangibana in the last decade has brought a new focus to the region for its rare earths potential.
Since discovery, Hastings has drilled out a 27.42 million tonne resource grading 0.97 per cent total rare earth oxide, or “TREO”. Curiously, the deposit contains a combined neodymium and praseodymium component grading 0.33 per cent. Frontier plans to focus its exploration efforts at Gascoyne on neodymium and praseodymium - elements important in the production of magnets used in phones, wind turbines, electric vehicles and military hardware.
The company believes global consumption of magnet rare earth oxides could rise five-fold by the end of the decade from US$2.98 billion last year to as much as US$15.65B by 2030.
Hastings, with a market capitalisation of more than $450 million, could become the next rare earths miner outside of China with production at Yangibana planned to commence in 2023.
A further 15km southwest of Yangibana, ASX-listed explorer, Dreadnought Resources recently unveiled 12 rare earths prospects at its Mangaroon project. Rock chips from outcropping ironstones at the project returned grades going as high as 11.2 per cent TREO, including 3.6 per cent neodymium and praseodymium combined.
Notably, REE production is dominated by China with about 70 per cent of the world’s output coming from the Asian nation. The country also controls about 90 per cent of the US$4B market for “heavy” rare earths that are typically used in magnets, according to Frontier.
A recent report by international research organisation, Roskill concluded that electric vehicle demand could surge by 26 per cent per annum over the next decade. The report also projected that by 2030, demand from the electric vehicle sector alone for magnets containing neodymium could account for more than 40 per cent of total demand.
Frontier is planning to launch a detailed airborne magnetic-radiometric survey at Gascoyne to support its view that it is prospective for rare earths. Data from the survey will be used to define potential drill targets within the Durlacher Supersuite rocks.
At the drill-ready Koolya project, about 240 square kilometres of ground prospective for bright white kaolin and HPA has been identified by the company.
The area around Koolya is already well regarded for its kaolin potential with private group, Tellus Holdings churning out the sought after mineral at its Sandy Ridge mine about 30km away. According to Frontier, Tellus has tabled a 25 year mine life at its high-grade open pit mine, where it is producing an ISO brightness of between 84 per cent and 86 per cent.
ASX-listed explorer, Kula Gold also recently intercepted broad and shallow kaolin clays at its Boomerang prospect, some 80km south of Koolya.
Frontier plans to unleash the rig at Koolya once the tenements are granted and a reconnaissance drilling program will investigate the depth, thickness, ISO brightness, mineralogy, and alumina content across the project area.
Kaolin is a white clay traditionally applied in a wide array of industries including paper and packaging, ceramics, paints and coatings, fibreglass, plastics, rubber and pharmaceuticals.
Curiously, kaolin is becoming more prevalent in the modern-day world due to its capacity to act as an optimal feedstock for HPA production.
New applications and technologies have created increased demand and market opportunities for HPA, including in electric vehicles where HPA is used to coat separators located between the cathode and anode in lithium-ion batteries.
It is also used in Iphone facias and LED lighting – both of which are burgeoning industries.
Frontier says the current global demand for premium quality HPA clocks in at about 60,000 tonnes per annum, with that figure forecast to grow to more than 140,000 per annum by 2025.
Management expects all tenements at Gascoyne and Koolya to be granted in the next few weeks.
Frontier entered an agreement to acquire the 873 square kilometre Murraydium rare earths project in South Australia’s Murray Basin in August this year. The project consists of four non-adjoining exploration licences believed by the company to be prospective for ionic clay rare earths mineralisation.
It says the Murray Basin is experiencing a renewed exploration focus for its rare earths potential following the recent success of ASX-listed Australian Rare Earths in the region.
Australian Rare Earths has so far drilled out a 39.9Mt inferred resource grading 725 parts per million TREO at its Koppamurra project.
Frontier has identified 58 sites for a first pass aircore drill program at Murraydium and a drilling contractor has been secured with the rods set to start turning once all permitting is in place.
Frontier has more than A$5 million in the kitty following a recent strongly supported capital raise. All eyes will likely be fixed on the cashed-up explorer as it looks to unearth major discoveries of minerals that are critical for the electrification of the modern world across its new project portfolio.
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