ree project in western australia

Explore "ree project in western australia" with insightful episodes like "Venture Minerals Limited (ASX: VMS) - Potential High Grade Clay Story.", "OD6 Metals Limited (ASX:OD6) Release Maiden Mineral Resource Estimate." and "West Cobar Metals Limited (ASX: WC1) - The Salazar REE Project - High Grade & a JORC Resource." from podcasts like ""Coffee with Samso", "Coffee with Samso" and "Coffee with Samso"" and more!

Episodes (3)

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

West Cobar Metals Limited (ASX: WC1) - The Salazar REE Project - High Grade & a JORC Resource.

Coffee with Samso Episode 178 is with Kevin Das, Executive Director of West Cobar Metals Limited (ASX: WC1)

The REE story is maturing for investors as the complexity of what is a good REE project is has moved several levels. What is still lagging is still a sound grounding on what is exactly an economic REE. There has been several stories on Samso but I have to admit that the jury is still a long away from a decision.

When Kevin Das, the Executive Director, of West Cobar Metals approached me to engage a Coffee with Samso, we spoke deeply on what make West Cobar different to other REE stories. The first major difference is the existence of a JORC resource for the Salazar REE project. This resource does give WC1 a first mover advantage but the competition is fast catching up.

The details of the resource may ultimately be the difference but we will need to wait for some critical steps such as the metallurgical results. The other factor which would drive this story far is that the deposit sits on top of an ultramafic base. What this means is unknown for now. There is evidence of other deposits that the enrichment of the REE is related to the base.

Salazar is the only REE deposit that I know of that is not on a granitic base. To add to the story, there is a HPA story here. There is a aluminium inferred resource on part of the Salazar resource. This may become a credit to the mining process and hence benefit the overall feasibility of the deposit.

The West Cobar Story

West Cobar is a minerals exploration and development company focused on rare earths and battery minerals within Australia and the US.

The Salazar REE Project

The Salazar Rare Earths Clay Project is located on non-agricultural undeveloped state land approximately 120km north-east of the township and deep-water port of Esperance in Western Australia. The Newmont deposit, located on the easternmost tenement at Salazar, contains an estimated JORC Inferred Mineral Resource of 43.5Mt at 1192ppm TREO + Y2O3 (500ppm cut-off). The O’Connor prospect to the west of Newmont has potential to host further significant high-grade rare earths mineralization.

Figure 1: Location of the Salazar Project. (Source West Cobar Metals Limited)

Nevada Lithium Project

The Montezuma Well and Big Smoky Valley claims are considered prospective for large-scale sedimentary-hosted lithium claystone deposits. The claims are located within the world class mining-friendly jurisdiction of the Nevada lithium district and host similar geology to known major lithium deposits in the region – including American Lithium (TLC deposit), American Battery Technology Company (Tonopah Flats deposit), Ioneer (Rhyolite Ridge deposit) and Century Lithium (Clayton Valley deposit).

Figure 2: Location of the Nevada Lithium projects. (Source West Cobar Metals Limited)

Hermit Hill Lithium Project

The Hermit Hill project area is located in the Litchfield Province in the Northern Territory, roughly 100km south-southwest of Core Lithium’s Finniss Lithium Project and Lithium Plus Minerals’ Lei lithium prospect, and 30km west of Ragusa Minerals’ Tank Hill lithium discovery. The project is prospective for pegmatite-hosted lithium mineralisation.

Figure 3: Location of the Hermit Hill project. (Source West Cobar Metals Limited)

The West Cobar Difference

Currently, on the Australian Stock Exchange (ASX), there seem to be an overflow of REE stories. Every week there are companies announcing the presence of REE and one could be forgiven to felling a sense of boredom. When the REE story emerge nearly 2 years ago, there was excitement and a bullish feel to this sector. However, as investors start to get a flood of news, this excitement starts to turn into confusion.

What I can say about the Salazar REE deposit is that it holds a few point of difference. It is still a clay hosted deposit as opposed to the ionic versions but the high grade nature of the resource - 43.5Mt @ 1192 TREO, makes this one of the deposits to take note.

On top of the REE resource, there is a HPA n inferred JORC Resource of 28.3 Mt at 23.4% Al2O3 (at 10% cut off). How this adds to the economics of the minnig of the Salazar REE story is yet to be played out. The positive would be that it adds credit to the process and lowers the overall feasibility and the downside is that it is mined and put aside. As the HPA content is part of the overall Salazar deposit means that there is no extra cost in mining it or isolating it.

The clay mineralisation at Newmont has a relatively high magnet rare earth oxide content comprising about 25% of the basket. In particular the Newmont deposit is relatively high in

high value, heavy magnet REE content, comprising 3% dysprosium and 0.5% terbium content.

Praseodymium makes up 4.2% and neodymium 16.8% of TREO (See Figure 4).

Figure 4: REE distribution within the Salazar deposit. (Source: West Cobar Metals Limited).

The other factor which may eventually affect the leachability of the deposit may lie in the fact that this deposit is overlaying a ultramafic (Amphibolite) basement. Like many of the REE story, the outright understanding of the flow chart of processing is still work in progress. This ultramafic basement is the key difference as all the other known Australian clay hosted deposit sits over granitic source.

Samso's Conclusion

These days, there is a large volume of REE deposits being marketed. We know that there is a Clay hosted and a Ionic hosted REE deposit. The difference is in the ability to easily extract the REE in the downstream process. I have spoken to people who tell me that the difference is not a physical or grade factor, but it in the test of whether they are easily leached out.

The host of ionic deposits are not restricted to the Chinese version as they are also granitic base. I know of an Australian ionic style being hosted over a limestone which is totally different. I am told that research has shown that the enrichment may be helped by the limestone interface.

If this is true, will the fact that the West Cobar deposit being overlaying an ultramafic source lead to a different leaching style? Management seems optimistic but lets wait for the facts.

If we want to look at which of the REE stories are going to have the legs to be at the mining and processing stage, then the odd balls like the Salazar REE project should be on our watch screens. Remember that there is also the potential for the mining of the HPA which is again something that is not present in all the other stories presently being sold in the ASX.

Chapters:

00:00 Start

00:20 Introduction

01:29 About Kevin Das

02:01 Kevin’s experience at Northern Minerals

03:44 All about the Salazar Rare Earth Project

04:21 The unique aspect of the Newmont deposit

05:37 The drill results at Salazar

06:29 The resource in Esperance

07:09 Understanding the drill results

10:34 West Cobar Metals being a first mover

12:14 The Alumina resource in Newmont