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Lodestar Resources (ASX:LSR) has become the latest beneficiary of REE momentum (following last week’s much-touted U.S.-Australia critical minerals deal) with its acquisition of the Virgin Mountain heavy REE project in Arizona, billed as being “near MP Materials’ Mountain Pass Mine.”
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Market reaction was pronounced with the stock jumping +20% higher in the Monday session (which pared off to a gain of +13% at lunchtime).
No doubt part of that investor calculus is that Lodestar stated on Monday that all 12 rare earth elements currently restricted by China for exports are contained within the Virgin Mountain project.
What HotCopper users might be more excited about when it comes to proximity with MP Materials is not the traditional geological potential of so-called ‘nearology’ but instead its proximity to MP Materials in the context of US gov’t investment in the immediate area.
(At least one HotCopper user noted additional reports from earlier this year in the WSJ and elsewhere that MP Materials will need to purchase other rare earth projects in order to meet supply agreement quotas.)
According to LSR, Virgin Mountain’s been on the radar since 1951, when original scans of the area looking for uranium noted mineralisation of interest underground. Previous channel sampling over the area has returned samples ranging from 1.26% total rare earth oxides (TREO) to 0.53% TREO.
To further back that up, the company’s licking off surface and geophys work on-site in the coming weeks and months with metallurgical testwork to be completed “to ensure REEs can be economically liberated.” An initial reaching out for downstream partners will also be on the agenda for the company.
Catching eyes on Monday was also that a $3.25M placement part-backed by Tribeca and Next Investors has wrapped up, underpinning the acquisition.
LSR last traded at 4.7cps.
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