Australia’s next pure rare earths producer Hastings Technology Metals Limited (ASX: HAS) today announced further drill results at the Frasers deposit from the company’s 2020 exploration drilling program across the world-class Yangibana rare earths project in Western Australia’s Gascoyne region.
HIGHLIGHTS:
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Close-spaced drilling completed at the northern end of the Frasers deposit confirms continuity of high-grade zones connecting into the southern portions of the Simon’s Find deposit.
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Infill program of RC drilling targeted shallow lode positions. Many significant visual intersections were logged and final assays have confirmed extensive zones of mineralisation.
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Desktop studies highlight the potential for multiple starter open pits to generate early cashflow based on this shallow, high-grade mineralisation. Detailed open pit mine planning will commence later this quarter.
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High-grade and shallow intersections from Fraser’s include:
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2m @ 2.02% TREO from 29m;
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3m @ 1.36% TREO from 32m;
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8m @ 0.93% TREO from 101m;
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5m @ 0.77% TREO from 25m; and
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4m @ 1.20% TREO from 55m.
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This round of assays means the majority of the drilling results for the Bald Hill-Simon’s Find-Frasers mineralised trend at Yangibana have been returned.
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The updated Yangibana Mineral Resource Estimate is set for completion this quarter.
The Frasers deposit has a Measured, Indicated and Inferred Resource of 1.32Mt @ 1.35% TREO. The infill drilling program was designed to upgrade shallow resource areas and selected deeper lodes in those areas currently not covered by the Frasers Mineral Resource.
The extent of the mineralised holes across the Yangibana project area is remarkable, with these results from Frasers further confirming the 8kms of mineralisation that forms the Bald Hill-Simon’s Find-Frasers trend. Extensions to Frasers have the potential to create substantial value for Hastings shareholders, given that Yangibana’s processing infrastructure is to be built nearby.
The infill drilling at Frasers has supported the existing Mineral Resource model and defined significant higher-grade extents to the north and south. These results connect the northern extents of the Frasers trend into the southern portion of the Simon’s Find deposit. Drilling has been completed on a 40m x 40m nominal infill grid.
An upgraded Mineral Resource estimate for Frasers and other deposits at Yangibana is expected to be released in the coming quarter once all assays have been received and resource modelling has been completed by the independent consultant. The new Mineral Resource will enable Hastings to further economic studies. High-grade mineralisation at Frasers outcrops at surface and there is potential to establish multiple open pits, which would feed into the early years’ source of ore for processing.
Desktop studies highlight the potential for open pit extensions at Frasers to form part of Yangibana’s economic study.
Hastings Technology Metals Chief Operating Officer Andrew Reid commented: “These latest results from Frasers are highly significant as we fine tune Yangibana’s development plan because they establish the continuity of mineralisation over an 8km length directly adjacent to Frasers’ existing 1.32Mt Resource. These results also show that the continuity and geometry of the mineralisation at Frasers is extensive and widespread. The mineralisation is predictable and repetitive.
“Frasers is part of an 8km-long rare earthssystem with further extensions highly likely. The increasing predictability of the structure is helping to identify a lot of new drilling targets. With this key drilling program now completed, we can finalise Yangibana’s Mineral Resource update, which in turn will underpin our project’s economic studies.”
