Basin Energy receives government funding to fast-track Sybella-Barkly REE studies

Basin Energy (ASX:BSN) has this week received $349,065 in funding from the Queensland government to accelerate exploration at its Sybella-Barkly rare earth element (REE) and uranium project near Mount Isa.

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The Queensland company was awarded two separate grants to allow it to undertake an early-stage geophysical survey and drilling.

The initial grant of $272,652 will cover the acquisition of airborne electromagnetic (AEM) data, used for next-stage targeting within the southern portion of the district-scale project area, Basin told shareholders today.

The Queensland government has also provided capital to help fund the reverse circulation drilling of the exploration concept for significant heavy rare earth enrichment associated with phosphorites in the southern Georgina Basin, a concept recently demonstrated by extensive academic research.

Basin’s MD, Pete Moorhouse, said the funding enables the company to fast-track high-impact exploration activities, advancing the company toward drill-ready targets across a highly prospective and under-explored basin system.

“This funding is particularly important in accelerating progress at the Sybella-Barkly project without diluting existing shareholders,” he declared on Friday.

“The airborne electromagnetic survey will significantly enhance our understanding of the southern project area and refine our next stage targeting, while the co-funded drilling provides an exciting opportunity to test a compelling exploration concept for heavy rare earth enrichment in the Georgina Basin.”

Mr Moorhouse continued: “Together, these initiatives position us to unlock value from this highly prospective and strategically important project.”

Basin is also now planning to acquire 1542 lineal kilometres of helicopter-borne high-resolution, low-elevation, time-domain electromagnetic, and magnetic data over the southern half of the Sybella-Barkly project.

The survey is following up on Basin’s Q4 2025 scout drilling that used existing AEM data in the northern half of the project area to successfully confirm sediment-hosted rare earth element anomalism and define a laterally extensive palaeochannel architecture prospective for channel-hosted roll-front uranium mineralisation.

Palaeoflow direction data gained from this drilling indicated that the system may extend directly south to where the proposed survey is to be conducted.

On the drilling front, Basin plans to complete up to 10 reverse circulation drill holes to test the concept for significant heavy rare earth and magnet rare earth enriched phosphorite units at the top of the Cambrian-aged sedimentary sequence within the Georgina Basin, specifically within regionally extensive phosphatic horizons developed along the basin margin.

Recent academic studies support a significant association between phosphorites and heavy/magnet rare earth enrichment in the southern Georgina Basin.

BSN is steady at 3.1cps this morning.

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