Askari sniffs rare earths up to 4505 ppm with focus on light REEs

Multi-metal explorer Askari Metals Ltd (ASX:AS2) has identified the presence of high-grade rare-earth elements (REEs) at its Red Peak project in Western Australia, with samples grading up to 4505 parts per million in total rare earth oxide (TREO).

High grades were consistently found throughout the sample, with 15 results showing grades better than 766 ppm TREO.

The samples were yielded from auger drilling work conducted at Red Peak, located in WA’s Gascoyne region, and proximal to Krakatoa Resources Ltd’s 101 million-tonne Mt Clere REE-niobium project.

Among the 801 samples taken were both light and heavy REEs, with the light ones being dominated by cerium, lanthanum and praeseodymium, and the total light rare earth oxide (TLREO) results grading 4284 ppm. A grade of 2990 ppm was found specifically for cerium.

Managing Director Gino D’Anna said Askari’s goal now would be to roll out infill work to better delineate the nature of REE mineralisation at the project.

“The results of the auger drilling campaign at Red Peak have provided a significant number of high-grade REE mineralised surface results with notable high maximum results achieved by some metals like Cerium, Samarium, Gadolinium and Europium,” he said.

“This dataset has identified areas to focus on more closely with a follow-up infill auger drilling sampling campaign.

“Rare Earth Element exploration requires an in-depth knowledge of the host lithology and how the REE’s can be liberated. The Company is proposing to conduct more detailed work focusing on REE liberation and will engage suitable industry experts to advance the project.”

Askari Metals has been trading at 5.3c.