ree exploration in esperance

Explore "ree exploration in esperance" with insightful episodes like "OD6 Metals Limited (ASX:OD6): The Path To Production - 2024", "Venture Minerals Limited (ASX: VMS) - Potential High Grade Clay Story.", "OD6 Metals Limited (ASX:OD6) Release Maiden Mineral Resource Estimate.", "A REE Story is now One Step Closer to Production - OD6 Metals Limited (ASX:OD6)" and "Mount Ridley Mines Limited (ASX:MRD) - A Consolidating Rare Earth Project in Western Australia." from podcasts like ""Coffee with Samso", "Coffee with Samso", "Coffee with Samso", "Coffee with Samso" and "Coffee with Samso"" and more!

Episodes (5)

OD6 Metals Limited (ASX:OD6): The Path To Production - 2024

As we close off 2023, what a better way to end with Coffee with Samso Episode 193 is with Brett Hazelden, Managing Director and CEO of OD6 Metals Limited (ASX: OD6).

The Rare Earth story is now reaching a stage where it is now all about the chemistry. Most followers of the sector are now assuming and accepting that companies will report minerals resources that will be large enough to sustain any operations.

What is unknown is the cost of the chemistry that will bring in the revenue and profits at the end of the exercise. I think in this episode of Coffee with Samso, Brett Hazelden makes a very compelling case for the OD6 Metals story. There is a lot of confusion in the market in terms of what is the end game for these clay rare earth projects.

Brett is a metallurgist and he comes from experience when he talks about the downstream process. For those viewers who are pondering about the Rare Earth sector, this is a must watch episode of Coffee with Samso.

Samso Conclusion

As many of you who have followed the Samso platform, you would have been watching a lot of Rare Earth stories lately. There is no doubt that the rare earth industry is very complicated and confusing which is primarily being fuelled by a cloud of uncertainty on the future. This is something that I had as well but you would have heard me mention this very often, recently, that the trip to the rare earth conference in Canberra has pretty much cleared it up for me.

My optimism that was derived from the conference is not an indication that the sector is going on a bull run. My thoughts are that the reality of a strong future for the demand of rare earths will be very profitable for the companies that stick to their work and are able to sustain their path with funding.

The ability to attract funding over the period is critical. In some ways, you could look at the this time of the market as a reset of the rare earth story, in terms of valuation. This is the time to do your DYOR. For all investors, if the commodity boom is around the corner and the rare earth metals are part of that run, then you would want to do some good research now.

Chapters:

00:00 Start

00:20 Introduction

01:03 2023 recap

03:32 Understanding the chemistry

07:14 Lowering the costs of production

09:45 Discussion about ESG

11:27 What is driving the economics of these clay projects?

15:46 Difference between Australia and South America - grade and processing route?

19:38 Takeaways from the Canberra REECon

26:16 What’s on the cards for 2024?

32:03 Discussion about the rare earth market price

35:14 News flow

36:04 Final thoughts

39:46 Conclusion

Coffee with Samso

enDecember 21, 2023

ree

od6

ree exploration in esperance

brett hazelden

australian rare earth projects

Venture Minerals Limited (ASX: VMS) - Potential High Grade Clay Story.

Coffee with Samso Episode 183 is all the Brothers Rare Earth Discovery.

The discovery of a high grade clay Rare Earth project by Venture Minerals Limited (ASX:VMS) in the Golden Grove district needs to be noticed. The depth of intercept and the high grade is up amongst the top tier projects in Western Australia.

Venture's Maiden Drilling program confirms High Grade clay hosted REE Discovery at the Brothers Project

The REE Journey begins for Venture Minerals Limited ?

In April 2023, the Venture Minerals announced the introduction of the Iron Duke REE project into the Brothers project on a Rooster Talk - Venture Minerals Limited (ASX: VMS) - Building a Rare Earth Portfolio in Western Australia. The REE story for the company was a slow build up over the last 18 months.

Venture set to commence drilling at the Iron Duke High Grade REE Project

Chapters:

00:00 Start

00:20 Introduction

00:57 High Grade clay hosted REE discovery at the Brothers Project

02:00 Reason for high grade

07:01 Direction of the Big Brothers Project

09:46 Is the Big Brothers Project the focus for VMS?

11:02 Discussion on metallurgy

11:57 How should investors look at VMS?

15:38 News flow

18:17 Why VMS?

21:13 Conclusion

Rare Earth Market Status

One of the first indicator of the fortunes of the Rare Earth exploration sector is the rise or fall of the REE market pricing. As we all concurrently, the market is looking at a bearish price sentiment which has created anxiety for many investors. One cannot argue that the bear is out of hibernation.

What many the supporters of the bear is forgetting is that this market has been created out of a geopolitical situation. The current changing focus of world politics, in my opinion has made metals such as REE attractive. The future needs of the REE components are going to add to the demand in the market.

AS all investors know, the long term is where money is made. This is a well know fact and again, investors forget that the mining game is all about the long term. The mining sector is measure in decades and not months nor years. There are mines that have happened in years, such as Nova Bollinger (Ni) and DeGrussa (Copper), but they are few and very far in between.

What makes Venture Minerals a good bet?

What Venture Minerals does best is to create diversified projects which continue to create value when it seems insurmountable to find value. I have said this many times about when I first had a Coffee with Samso with Andrew Radonjic and finding the value in the numerous projects.

Why and how can do continue to do this? This is where experienced management comes to the front of the game. The value in the Brothers project is prime example. How did they come up with a project that looked liked an outlier but with drilling, it is now possibly standing out to be a contender in the Rare Earth race.

The Decarbonisation Problem.

The world is intent on achieving a state where there is clean energy use but the journey is going to be long and hard. The whole concept of achieving that level is not being helped with the persistent sectors of the population believing that restricting mining is going to be the solution.

There is no going back to the old ways of "Non-Decarbonisation" thinking. This is something that is established. I had a coffee with someone in South Australia and he was proudly telling me about the way the state has gone to renewable energy.

The process of creating a world of less "dirty energy" is now no longer news. This is an expected path.

Samso's Conclusion

Andrew Radonjic has pulled another rabbit out of his hat. The Brothers project is one that I certainly did think had a great chance for some glory. In our last Coffee with Samso, we discussed that the historical drilling would make this project very interesting.

Venture to JV into Neighbouring REE project hosting drill intersections up to 49 metres @ 1,313 ppm TREO

The two drill holes that was announced was into bedrock which would have suggested that there could be more to come. The recent release has made that thought come true.

Does this make the Brothers project a stand out? I dont think one can say that now as there is still the issue of the metallurgical question. What I have learnt is that they will come back and show that it will leach. How much acid.,...etc. will be the main topic of conversation.

Is this something that will carry Venture Minerals back to its glory days when it was a darling for retail investors, I think not immediately. I like the numbers that have come up but I think the market is saturated with a lot of REE stories.

The markets needs to understand what kind of project is going to make the grade and what will not. The initial Ionic vs. Non-Ionic debate is now a thing of the past as we have discussed many times, there is more to the discussion than the Acid content.

What I know now is that there are several projects that have something different that I believe make them unique. For Venture Minerals, it is their location (proximity to the new Lynas story), the grade and the depth of mineralisation. They are not in the typical REE areas and there are no potential land issues.

All these factors, in my opinion, makes Venture different.

enAugust 13, 2023

ree project in western australia

venture mienrals limited

OD6 Metals Limited (ASX:OD6) Release Maiden Mineral Resource Estimate.

Coffee with Samso Episode 180, Brett Hazelden, Managing Director and CEO of OD6 Metals Limited (ASX: OD6) explains the highly anticipated Mineral Resource Estimate.

As the understanding of investors matures over the Rare Earth market, companies in this sector need to show that their story is moving forward. The release of the mineral resource by OD6 is significant as it starts to show the real pieces of the their approach in delivering value to shareholders.

ASX Announcement 18 July 2023 - Splinter Rock Rare Earth Project Maiden Mineral Resource Estimate - 344MTR @ 1,308ppm TREO at a 1,000ppm cut off.

A Recap of the OD6 Metals Limited (ASX: OD6) Story.

OD6 Metals is all about Rare Earths Elements (REE) in the southern region of Western Australia. It is located just north of the town of Esperance. As we were doing this Coffee with Samso, the market capitalisation of the company was around AUD26M and the share price was sitting around AUD 0.25.

The company is focusing on both the Grass Patch and Splinter Rock project which have both undergone drilling campaigns defining potential resources. Figure 1 shows the recent investment highlights for the company in the most recent presentation.

Figure 1: Project locations for OD6 Metals Limited. (source: OD6 Metals)| Coffee with Samso | Samso

Figure 1: The current investment highlights for OD6 Metals Limited. (source: OD6 Presentation July 2023)

The Word According To Brett Hazelden

In this episode of Coffee with Samso Brett share with us what the Maiden Resource means and how it shapes the OD6 story. The 344Mt @ 1308ppm TREO is simply stating a baseline for the continuing work to establish a mining proposition. As I have mentioned several times, the Rare Earth players out in the market place is poised to clear a lot of misunderstanding or misinformation.

Like everyone interested in this space, the first market misconception to debunk is that there is a marked difference in "Ionic" and Non-Ionic" clay REE deposits. There is no physical noticeable difference. The only factor that differentiates the so called two types is its ability to leach out the elements easily.

Brett gives a good explanation of why the market needs to understand that there are many factors that go into a leachable product. The economics of the entire process needs to be considered.

What are the Key Points of the Unlocking of the Downstream Process?

In my opinion, the key discussion point for the OD6 Metals story at this stage is about the metallurgical aspects of the resource. The annoucnement of the Mineral Resource Estimate (MRE) is a step forward in establishing the fact that the resource exist and the grade is "good". I say "good" at this stage is because there is not really a lot of factual evidence on what is the grade that will work.

The cut off grade that was chosen is an indication that OD6 realise that there is a need for a high grade to make the processing story work. This is a good sign that the company understand that the process of extracting is not easy. Brett is putting the market on notice that the difficulty of extraction is one that will eat away at the technical nature of the deposit.

In the Coffee with Samso, Brett highlights that the high grade nature of the Splinter Rock Resource is a big positive. There is a good reason that in our industry, we say Grade is King. The cut off grade is almost starting a baseline of what is required to make the equation work for OD6.

The discussion of making sure all the parameters balance out with the economics and the ESG factors is clear and out in the the open. I like the fact that Brett does not shy away from telling the market the challenges.

The final thought on the take away from this Coffee with Samso is that the resource is only just 5% of the total potential in the Splinter Rock project. So if 344MT @1,308ppm TREO is the current resource and OD6 have only touched 5% of the project, then there is a lot of upside for OD6 Metals.

Samso Conclusion

The OD6 story is a work in progress where it has the potential of making its on success. What do I mean? In this Coffee with Samso, Brett outlines to the market that there is indeed a real resource in Splinter Rock. Brett has not only outline the potential abundance of resource, but it comes with one of the highest known resource grade.

As I have mentioned above, the story is unraveling and as the market is narrating itself on the future of the OD6 story, I think the majority of the market is not understanding that the "Alluvial" Rare Earth story is in its infancy. The jury on what works and what does not work is still having lunch and preparing for a long stint in the jury box.

There are many comments that you need an "ionic" style and the "clay" styles will not work is starting to be erroneous. As I am blessed in being able to talk to may people, I feel strongly that the real story will surprise many people.

What I find interesting is that investors always think that the process of business is rocket science. As many Samso followers will know, I like using analogies with food. The business of making money is no different to the guy selling pancakes or muffins.

The market for Rare Earth is now on the table due to the geopolitical situation of requiring "Western" sources. This need will allow the business of making Esperance a region for Rare Earth more realistic. OD6 is in the prime position to take advantage as it has two major components in its story, a large resource and its high grade nature in the resource.

The business of balancing the leachability and the cost of making it happen is all a matter of time. Investors need to be reminded that the business of mining is measured in years and decades. The likes of Warren Buffett invests for the long term and that is why they are the successful people we quote.

Chapters:

00:00 Start

00:20 Introduction

01:19 Splinter Rock Mineral Resource

01:55 1000ppm cutoff grade at Splinter Rock

04:40 How should investors look at the Maiden Mineral Resource?

05:55 Is the extraction process the more important discussion?

12:58 The larger the volume, the larger the area?

14:30 How much bigger can the resource get in terms of numbers?

17:49 The challenge of the mining sector

22:22 The geological consistency of the MagREO percentage

23:50 The significance of the hosting base rock in terms of chemistry

24:33 Possibility of grade variability?

26:13 Discussion about the rare earths market

27:19 The cost of mining soft rock and hard rock

29:03 Discussion about the current equity market

31:32 News flow

35:26 Main takeaway about the Maiden Mineral Resource

38:43 Conclusion

Coffee with Samso

enJuly 25, 2023

rare earth

ree project in western australia

od6 metals

ree splinter rock

ree exploration in esperance

A REE Story is now One Step Closer to Production - OD6 Metals Limited (ASX:OD6)

Rooster Talk Episode 71 is with Brett Hazelden, Managing Director and CEO of OD6 Metals Limited (ASX: OD6). The OD6 story is now one step closer to its Holy Grail with the latest annoucnement. This latest Rooster Talk is a discussion on what the news mean for the company. Could this be an endorsement of the entire Clay Rare Earth sector.

The latest News - Hot of The Press.

The first conversation with Brett Hazelden on the first Coffee with Samso (OD6 Metals Limited (ASX: OD6) - The Rare Earth Elements Story.), my understanding for this Clay Rare Earth sector was initiated. I had to admit that what I had learnt before was scarce and had little foundation. now that we have had four lessons, I am starting to believe that I know this sector. The two projects, Splinter Rock and Grass Patch makes OD6 Metals Limited. The latest announcement is critical as it puts the question of " Can they get the REE out? " I feel that this question would have been on many lips and now it is confirmed. As Brett explains, the process is now pretty much a step at a time but one has to feel that things are gearing towards the positive rather than not.

As Explained by Brett Hazelden

What it boils down to now is using the announced results and moving into the refinement of the process. When Brett talks about the path forward, it feels like there is a fair amount of confidence. It almost feels like they know what they are expecting. An interesting comment that I remember was that the current drilling is no longer a guessing game. They are expecting results to be much about the same. The geology, which is a common feature in all these type of deposits, are consistent and there are not much variability. This is what Brett has been told by his competent person, who knows the deposit style. What that means is that there will be no surprises from the current drilling program.

What are the Key Points of the Annoucnement?

All system is a go. That is the take away point of the Rooster Talk. The much anticipated metallurgical results have come and the results are consistent with the company's expectations. The company now understands the geology and the mineralisation better. The resource building exercise appears to be simpler as management now knowing where the better grades and recoveries are located. The potential future resource is going to be big. The scale is not what investors may be used to as the number is going to be big. The simplistic nature of the geology will also mean that the resource definition process will be easier.

Samso Conclusion

Having the fortune to have followed the OD6 journey for a while has been one of the best feelings of doing this job. I have always said that the business will be on its way forward once some results on the chemistry is known. Although, this is still very early stage, the results from the latest test have given news that are consistent with moving forward. The recovery rates in the 70% range appears to be what management was looking for as a start. The segregation of the impurities in the coarser fragments is fortuitous. The physical separation of the coarser materials form the fines will simplify the quality control process. I was once told that OD6 had a good project. When I first looked at the company and after doing a few Coffee with Samso and Rooster Talk, I agreed. However, the burning question was still about whether they can process the end product. As I understand from Brett, this is the first step to answering that question with conviction. I think when viewers watch the Rooster Talk, you will feel that there is some level of confidence in his voice. The resource is going to be big and he says, we only need 5% of that.

Chapters:

00:00 Start

00:26 Introduction

00:59 Brett introduces the Findings from the annoucnement.

01:47 The details of the annoucnement.

06:12 Process of Defining the Quality of the REE End Product.

09:00 The Acid usage Discussion

11:12 Investors Expectations - Comparisons to Peers

14:56 Resource potential of OD6 4 projects.

16:04 Prop Prospect

18:28 It is all about the Stripping Ratio.

18:58 The "Good" Areas.

19:50 The perfect place for a project.

21:43 Market Sentiment - Critical Minerals Demand

23:53 News Flow

25:06 Drilling results should be consistent with previous drilling.

26:42 Easy to resource Clay REE Geology.

27:58 The Results Confirm that OD6 will Work.

28:51 Conclusion

Coffee with Samso

enApril 05, 2023

ree

ree splinter rock

ree exploration in esperance

brett hazelden

od6 metals limited

Mount Ridley Mines Limited (ASX:MRD) - A Consolidating Rare Earth Project in Western Australia.

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The Esperance region is fast developing into a Rare Earth Region and Episode 69 is with Guy Le Page, Non-Executive Director of Mount Ridley Mines Limited (ASX: MRD).

The Mount Ridley Story is all about clay hosted Rare Earth Elements (REE) deposits. The biggest question for all the clay REE projects relates to the timing to the unlocking of the metallurgical conundrum. It is not a big secret that there is a hurdle for these companies but is it a matter of time or market, that is the investors food for thought.

The Mount Ridely Story.

The clay hosted REE deposits that Mount Ridley has is located within a Fraser Range sub-basin, which is just 50km north of Esperance. Interestingly, it was initially acquired for its nickel and copper sulphides potential.

Figure 1: The Mount Ridley REE Project comprises 9 granted exploration licences in south-west Western Australia with an area of approximately 3,400 square kilometers. (Source: MRD Annoucnement, 14th February 2023).

Mount Ridley is one of many companies that are applying their trade in the Esperance region. hence, the MRD story is with good company.

Figure 2: The Mount Ridley REE Project is well positioned with similar projects which have been proven to be mineralised and have known resources. (Source: MRD Presentation, December 2022).

The Company also holds approximately 18% of the Weld Ranges in the mid-west of Western Australia. Areas of the tenements are prospective iron and gold.

Chapters

00:00 Start

00:20 Introduction

00:52 Update on the Mount Ridley Story

02:05 Mount Ridley Tenement Holdings.

02:42 Any update on the REE sector?

03:25 Is the recent Molybdenum price surge a sign of things to come for commodities?

04:13 Are we looking at a change in sensitivities with supply crunch and price volatility?

05:06 Apparent pricing volatility.

06:11 Upcoming news for Mount Ridley.

07:17 Why buy Mount Ridley?

08:41 Conclusion

The Sensitivity of Supply Deficit and Price Volatility.

In this episode of Rooster Talk, one of the topics that was discussed was the current observation that the supply crunch. This is an interesting topic as the supply crunch of metals have been talked about for nearly 8 years. I remember writing about this topic in 2019 (See below)and the crunch sort of never came.

Samso Insights:

Zinc Market- What happened to the price surge? - January 19, 2019

Is the Commodity Market just getting used to a slowing Chinese Panda ? - June 10, 2019

Is the Commodities Shortage a Mirage? - June 18, 2019

Shortages in Metals - March 14, 2020

The Mystical Journey of the Commodity Price - Will it Continue? - June 18, 2021

One of the most compelling crunch that never eventuate and still has not has been the zinc story. Nickel and Copper kind of came of late but that is still a wait and see game. The point is that in the previous narratives, the hype never eventuate.

The last six months have shown that this may finally be happening or is it? There was the nickel push and then there was the copper run recently. Uranium may be starting to lead or may lead be showing some sings of leading the pack. As guy Le page mentions in the Rooster Talk, the surge in buying by the Sprott Uranium Fund may have created a catalyst for commentators to feed on.

Why are we talking about this topic ? Well, the price of Molybdenum ran spectacularly in January 2023 and observers comment that this is due to China restarting production and closure of mines in Peru.

Figure 3: The price chart of Molybdenum. (Source: Trading Economics, 2023).

Hence, if this is the case a nearly 95% jump in price would make any punter wake up. A surge like that because of a mine closure of increasing production in China? On the REE front, according to Strategic Metals Invest (www.strategicmetalsinvest.com), since January 2020, Dysprosium has increased by up to 78.25%, Neodymium 226% and Praseodymium 169.20%

Samso's Conclusion

The clay hosted REE journey is one that is intriguing and poses a lot of questions for potential investors. When will the unlocking of the Holy Grail happen? Will there be a market when that happens? Will the technology using these metals still be around?

Well, in my humble opinion, having lived many decades in the wonderful world of ours, I think this is our time in seeing a pivoting of industries. The world of electrification is here to stay and the world of efficiency in creating cleaner energy has been set in concrete.

Although Rare Earths are not rare, the concentration of the resources and the application to downstream products are rare. The shift of dependence on one "nation" to produce products seems to be taking a back seat. The Esperance region is ideal for a new industry to emerge. It has all the important logistics like a Port and a low density of population. It has the space to grow in size.

The good thing for companies like MRD is that the resource is almost a certainty. They have many players who, as a whole, will be able to play with the big boys. The unlocking of the metallurgical question will be exciting times for all involved. What investors need is to be patient but this seems to be the biggest Archilles Heal.

enFebruary 21, 2023

ree exploration in esperance

ree rare earth