Khotgor is now estimated to host 275Mt at 0.91% total rare earth oxides plus yttrium oxide, based on a 0.4% TREO-Y cut-off, compared with an earlier JORC 2004 resource of 350Mt grading 0.96%.
With 2.2Mt of contained TREO, and average neodymium-praseodymium grades comprising 20% of the resource, the company is considering a starter project based on the higher grade 17Mt at 1.92% for 328,200t REO-Y higher-grade areas using a 1.5% cut-off.
In December, PAC Partners issued a note suggesting it expected the higher-grade resource to be in the order of 40-50mt at 2% TREO based on prior work.
At that level, it would have been comparable to ASX-listed peers, such as Arafura Rare Earths and Hastings Technology Metals, but with a lower NdPr endowment.
While the resource is smaller than some may have hoped, Parabellum is finalising a scoping study that is due by mid-year.
Infill drilling and trenching programs will follow to support a definitive feasibility study targeted for release in 2024.
A pilot plant is being built to aid in metallurgical test work. Initial tests were completed on a 1.3t bulk sample, with rare earth extraction above 85%, which was said to compare favourably to prior work.
The Ulaanbaatar pilot plant will be commissioned later this quarter to help optimise the flow sheet and produce samples for potential off-take partners.
Parabellum has also flagged several potentially useful elements separate to the Khotgor resource, including 5.5Mt of phosphate for further work.
The company has paid A$3.9 million for 30% of UK concern Temarise, which has an 80% option over an Khotgor. Temarise was founded by recently appointed Parabellum technical director Peter Secker.
Parabellum chair Mark Hohnen has called Khotgor "one of the world's largest undeveloped REE deposits".
Khotgor sits within a granted mining licence and is 530km southwest of Ulaanbaatar in the South Gobi province.
Parabellum listed in late 2021 and also has interests in the Lachlan Fold Belt, New South Wales, where maiden drilling is expected to begin.
It had $4.7 million at the start of the quarter.
The stock was off 13% today at 39c, valuing it at $24 million.
The junior's shares were 15c 12 months ago and peaked at 63c in November.
