i am in, page-5

I'm reposting this. My last effort was rushed, I didn't include the Nolans Bore deposit and some points were less than clear. I will ask for the other post to be moderated.

Hi KC,

First apologies for not putting out the NTU overview I promised. First came the welcome addition to my family and then other work took over.

NTU's recent ann needs a bit of background. We are talking about Rare Earth Elements (REE). China has the market more or less tied up so the first thing to say is they just might want to tie up this deposit as well. Secondly the only commonality between the 5 Australian deposits I know of is their diversity. All deposits seem to have a significantly different genesis.

The geology in this summary is probably gobbledegook to most people. I really just want to point out the diversity between the 5 Australian deposits.

1. Mt Weld... Sort of in production... current operations suspended...

Geology: REE derived from carbonatite.

2. Olympic Dam... REE in waste stream along with refractory Brannerite U mineral... Currently stockpiled in tailings dams but still potentially available to extract...

Geology. classic IOCGU deposit (Iron Oxide, Copper, Gold Uranium)

3. Port Macquarie... Jervois Mining?... world class scandium deposit containing other REE... located in a reserve and swarming with greenies...

Geology. Associated with serpentinite.

4. Gardner Tanami... NTU... some high grade mineralisation... extensive, over 11 (sq???) km...

Geology hydrothermal veins.

5, Nolans Bore... Arafura Resources. Planned production from 2012

Geology: Metamorphosed pegmatite with hydrothermal influence

The Gardner Tanami deposit has been known about for years but the "11km" extent makes it very interesting. There is a strong possibility that detailed study will reveal larger pods of mineralisation within this large area. The associated uranium means the REE could be a valuable byproduct of uranium mining.

Did I see mention that we are dealing with phosphate minerals? If so this could simplify metallurgical processing. However Mt Weld is phosphate related too and that deposit seemed to come unstuck on the processing side. (Disclaimer: I haven't followed Lynas corp closely.)

I hope this helps. We are certainly talking about exploration worth announcing.