RareX wants to focus on its Cummins Range project in WA's Kimberley region, so it will seek shareholder approval to spin-out its nickel, copper, and Byro East platinum group elements in WA, and its Orange East gold project in New South Wales, under the umbrella of Cosmos Exploration.

 

Byro East was originally pegged in early 2020, with the area considered to have potential for rare earths, but the subsequent Julimar discovery by Chalice Mining led the company to take a fresh look at the Milly Milly Intrusions, which are considered analogous to the Gonneville Intrusion that host Julimar.

 

Indeed, Chalice has pegged ground in the same Narryer Gneiss Complex, near Byro East.

 

RareX's work has highlighted a number of nickel-copper-PGE targets within its 900sq.km tenement position, along the western edge of the Yilgarn Craton, in what it now considers the Western Gneiss Terrain, with at least one gossan that has seen limited attention. 

 

Orange East is located just 15km along strike from Regis Resources' two million ounce McPhillamys deposit, in similar rocks, on the eastern margin of the Molong Volcanic Belt, NSW.

 

The significant Godolphin-Copperhannia Thrust Fault Zone traverses the centre of the tenement and hosts dozens of historical workings, including the Carangera mine that produced 784t of copper grading of 14% in the mid-1800s.

 

Work completed by RareX has defined a number of exploration targets, including the Gunnarbee geochemical anomaly which has "striking similarities" to McPhillamys, but had not been tested in the modern area. 

 

Sampling in 2009 by RareX (as Clancy Exploration) also defined soil anomalies up to 2km long with coincident high-grade rock chips to 19.8% copper, 25 grams per tonne gold and 127gpt silver along the GCTFZ. 

 

Clancy drilled without success, but the geochemical anomalies and the IP anomalies remain unexplained.

 

There has been limited work on the projects since the company secured Cummins Range, and RareX said a spin-out would allow funding without significant dilution.

 

RareX says Cosmos will benefit from being a dedicated explorer in a pricing environment that has seen nickel and copper rise strongly since the start of the year, and increasing demand for the metals in the electric vehicle space. 

 

An initial public offer is being prepared for later in the year.

 

RareX will maintain its Lachlan Fold Belt copper-gold interests, where it is being free-carried by recently-listed Kincora Copper.

 

Shares in RareX were up 5% in early trade to 11c, capitalising it at $48 million.