The company's drilling since its first holes were completed in March 2022, that ratcheted up its exploration target to 1-1.27 billion tonnes, have delivered a resource even larger than expected with 1.43Bt at an average 3309 parts per million total rare earth oxide for 4.73 million tonnes of contained TREO.

 

That is substantially larger than RareX's 1.3Mt contained TREO resource for Cummins Range in Western Australia that was announced this morning, one of the largest in Australia.

 

Halleck Creek contains about 24% magnetic rare earth elements in its assemblage, with an average neodymium-praseodymium grade of 734ppm.

 

The project was first identified during the uranium rush of the 1950s, with REEs noted, but saw little attention until ASX-listed Zenith Minerals reactivated the project in 2018.

 

It sold out to ARR in 2020.

 

Just 25% of the Halleck Creek area has been drilled. The deposit starts at surface and has been drilled out to 150m, suggesting a large scale, low-cost open pit mining development is on the cards. 

 

Tests have already demonstrated the ore responds well to conventional processing technology.

 

ARR is working to optimise the process flow sheet, with the results of the metallurgical work to inform a scoping study due later this year.

 

Managing director Chris Gibbs said Halleck Creek was a strategically significant rare earth asset for the US, which is particularly keen to reduce its dependence on China and other sources of imported rare earths, and had the potential to become a world class deposit.

 

China mines 58% of rare earths but processes 85%.

 

"Global magnetic rare earth oxide consumption is forecast to more than treble by 2035. The US government has made no secret that it is seeking to onshore supply of all critical materials for supply chain and national security purposes," he said.

 

The US has a single producing REE mine, Mountain Pass mine in California. ARR has pegged some ground less that 30km from the mine as its third asset, Searchlight in Nevada.

 

ARR also owns the advanced 173Mt La Paz deposit in Arizona, where there is a 749-928Mt exploration target. 

 

La Paz, its first US asset, also has significant scandium.

 

An updated resource is due for La Paz in early 2024.

 

ARR has cash of about A$15 million it expects will meet its needs for 2-3 years following a $14 million raising at 29c last year.

 

Shares in American Rare Earths were up 20% today at 25c, capitalising the company at $112 million.

 

The stock has traded at 18-53c over the past year.