I've had a lot of time over the past month to look into all these REE plays and I can say:
- I'm no longer waiting on drill results - drill pattern appears somewhat randomised (follows the road) and hit deep, wide and continuous REE -> balance of probabilities says REE mineralisation will extend out from their drilling both ways, at least enough to get plenty tonnes to be of interest. More drilling is a "nice to have" at this stage
- Their sighter met testwork was on one sample taken at surface, so the real question I have is - does the mineralisation respond similarly (high REE extraction with weak acid) at depth and elsewhere in the drilled areas? Secondly, can they achieve these extractions with less acid, ambient temperature, not pulverised sample?
So I am really waiting on met testwork results to make an entry on this one. More info is needed.
But, with the information currently available, I believe Sybella is the most promising leachable REE (clay/soft) project in Australia.
- Head grade is class leading, 330 ppm NdPr drill average is significantly higher than other Aus resources MRE's: AR3 (176 ppm), ABX (161 ppm), VTM (90 ppm), IXR (140 ppm), OD6 (283 ppm), WC1 (240 ppm), HRE (214 ppm).
- Strip ratio very low, potentially ~0. @bigpoppapump has covered this already. Compare with HRE at 0.87, AR3 >1, most others it is too much work to calculate it, but suffice to say none start from surface or extend down >120 m with very continuous grade w.r.t depth and strike
- 85% REE extraction (with the caveat it is single sample at surface) is only trumped by some Esperance projects achieving ~90% using 100 g/L hydrochloric acid (at which point you are dissolving everything in the clay, not just the REE), but head and shoulders above everyone else using sulphuric acid. Compare AR3 achieving ~60% REE extraction.
- 40 kg/t sulphuric acid addition is less than the only Aus project who has publically released acid consumption figures (HRE; 53 kg/t sulphuric acid equivalent). Note that addition =/= consumption and is typically a higher figure.
If met testwork hits the right notes, I will be on this like fleas on a dog.
With regard to Maronan, if I was looking for exposure to silver, I would buy MMA shares directly. If I jump on board RDM, I hope the directors are planning to sell MMA shares to fund Sybella development, wasn't that the point of the spin out in any case? They have enough cash to get the April 2024 where the MMA shares come out of escrow..
Cheers.
(20min delay)