News Article > The Australian
This $2m capped gold explorer is finally getting traction with investors after buying into a niobium-rich rare earths project called Karloning in the WA wheatbelt.
Popularised by WA1 Resources’ (ASX:WA1) recent discovery on the WA/NT border, niobium is mainly used to make steel better, but also has growing uses in lithium-ion batteries, intelligent glass, solar panels, 5G tech, and nuclear energy.
Ferroniobium metal (65 per cent Nb) sells for ~$US45,000/t.
CDR has inked a deal to earn up to 90 per cent of Karloning, where a large 1.5km long and 200m wide pegmatite has been shown to host niobium alongside magnet REEs like dysprosium, neodymium, terbium, and praseodymium.
Early-stage rock/soil sampling returned highly anomalous REEs and +5000ppm (0.5 per cent) niobium.
(Because 5000ppm is the detection limit of the tech used, assays are awaited for exact numbers, which will probs be higher.)
“We secured this opportunity as part of our ongoing business development activities to add further depth to our existing portfolio of gold projects in Australia and the USA,” CDR managing director Shannan Bamforth says.
“We are attracted to the rare earths sector because of its strong fundamentals and the relative scarcity of quality exploration opportunities.
“The Karloning pegmatite is in an existing quarry, providing us with a unique opportunity to see the geology and make a rapid assessment of the exploration potential.
“We believe the pegmatite has significant scale, and grab sampling has returned impressive grades of the four key REEs required in the manufacture of permanent rare earth magnets.
“This is a walk-up exploration opportunity, and we are looking forward to getting on the ground as soon as possible to commence initial exploration activities with a view to firming up targets for drilling in early 2023.”
Initial work programs at the site include soil sampling and either drone or ground magnetics and ground radiometric surveys “as a priority”.
The results of these surveys will underpin the maiden drilling program, planned for Q1 CY2023.
