Recent high-grade results from RareX's flagship Cummins Range rare earths project in Western Australia's Kimberley region have increased the prospects of lifting the overall grade of the deposit.
In November, the company reported a hit of 103m at 1.6% total rare earth oxides, including 0.3% neodymium-praseodymium and 0.4% niobium, including 47m at 2% TREO with 0.4% NdPr and 0.5% niobium, with 9m at 2.3% TREO with 0.5% NdPr and 1% niobium.
A further hole returned a partial assay of 22m at 3.1% TREO, including 2m at 10.6% TREO with 1.8% NdPr in the project's primary zone.
RareX managing director Jeremy Robinson said the results proved the project's potential.
Cummins Range has an existing indicated and inferred resource of 18.8 million tonnes at 1.15% TREO and 0.14% niobium, including a higher-grade component of 6.5Mt at 1.98% TREO and 0.21% niobium.
The TREO grade puts the project in the "middle of the pack" among RareX's ASX peers.
However, the latest results have given RareX the confidence that the grade will increase.
"Two per cent is where we're targeting," Robinson said.
"We're getting that consistently in some of our drilling."
The company completed a 5272m drilling program, comprising 2271m of reverse circulation drilling and 3001m of diamond drilling - the first at the project in almost 40 years.
The results of the latest program will form the basis of a new exploration target to be released early in 2022.
Drilling will resume in late March/early April, following the wet season.
Most of the resource sits within 200m of surface so RareX will be targeting depth extensions.
"I believe this resource has the potential to get to 50 million-plus tonnes," Robinson said.
"It's just a matter of the drilling, which we'll be doing next year.
"We'll be hitting it hard."
RareX recently appointed James Durrant as general manager, projects, to lead a scoping study, which is due for completion in March.
"We're very confident we've got an economic proposition on our hands," Robinson said.
The work is being done against the backdrop of positive commodity price fundamentals.
"Rare earth prices are very much on the up and up," Robinson said.
NdPr prices have risen sharply to a current price of US$136 per kilogram and demand is expected to grow at 10% per annum in the current decade due to the green energy transition.
RareX is fully funded for its planned work programs, with cash and investments of A$5.5 million.
"With a modest EV of $40 million, we think there's still a lot of upside in our company," Robinson said.
