TIDMRBW
RNS Number : 1658C
Rainbow Rare Earths Limited
17 June 2021
Rainbow Rare Earths Limited
("Rainbow" or the "Company")
(LSE: RBW)
17 June 2021
MAIDEN JORC MINERAL RESOURCE ESTIMATE FOR PHALABORWA PROJECT
Rainbow Rare Earths Ltd is pleased to announce a maiden JORC
(2012) compliant Mineral Resource Estimate in respect of the
Phalaborwa Project in South Africa ("Phalaborwa" or the
"Project").
-- Inferred Mineral Resource Estimate of 38.3Mt at 0.43% TREO is
larger than the original 35Mt expected from the gypsum stacks.
-- High value Neodymium ("Nd") and Praseodymium ("Pr") oxide,
the essential metals for permanent magnets powering the green
revolution, represent 29.1% of the total contained rare earth
oxides, with an in-situ value of US$95/t gypsum(1) .
-- Economic Dysprosium ("Dy") and Terbium ("Tb") oxide credits,
with an in-situ value of US$28/t gypsum(1) , enhance the overall
value of the rare earth basket contained in the stacks, with the
in-situ value of these four high value rare earth elements
totalling US$123/t gypsum(1) .
-- Very low levels of radioactive elements confirmed in the
Inferred Mineral Resource Estimate confirm the 'green' credentials
of this project.
1. Based on metal oxide prices published by Argus Media on 11(th) June 2021
George Bennett, CEO, said: "The Maiden Mineral Resource Estimate
for Phalaborwa marks an important milestone for Rainbow,
underpinning the opportunity for the rapid development of a low
capital and operating cost, high value processing facility in South
Africa to provide the essential metals to power the green
revolution from an extremely environmentally beneficial
project.
The fact that the rare earths are present in a chemical rather
than mineral form in the gypsum stacks removes the need, as with
the majority of global rare earth projects, to firstly produce a
mineral concentrate before undertaking a complex and energy
intensive 'cracking' process. The initial Phalaborwa process will
deliver a high value cracked rare earth carbonate and studies are
ongoing to investigate whether the valuable rare earth metals can
be delivered as separated rare earth oxides for direct sale to
industrial users. This gives us confidence that Phalaborwa will
become the cornerstone of Rainbow's business in the near term.
Alongside the recently announced metallurgical test work
results, which have confirmed that the gypsum stacks are amenable
to simple, direct leaching with low-cost sulphuric acid at ambient
temperature and pressure, the road map to commercialising the
Phalaborwa deposit is now clear. We look forward to announcing
further metallurgical test work results ahead of completing an
initial scoping study/preliminary economic assessment in Q3
2021."
The Phalaborwa gypsum is contained in two separate gypsum
stacks, labelled simply as Stack A and Stack B, for which Mineral
Resources have been individually estimated as set out below:
Inferred Mineral Resource Estimate
Contribution of TREO by oxide Grade
Tonnes TREO Nd Pr Dy Tb Other Th U
Mt % % % % % % ppm ppm
------ ---- ------- ----- ----- ---- -------- ---- ---
Stack
A 27.4 0.42 23.3 5.7 1.0 0.4 69.6 49.0 1.8
Stack
B 10.9 0.46 23.6 5.7 1.0 0.3 69.4 44.1 2.0
------ ---- ------- ----- ----- ---- -------- ---- ---
TOTAL 38.3 0.43 23.4 5.7 1.0 0.3 69.6 47.6 1.8
------ ---- ------- ----- ----- ---- -------- ---- ---
-- All Estimated Mineral Resources are classified as Inferred
-- The Inferred Mineral Resource Estimate is reported above a cut-off grade of 0.2% TREO.
-- No constraining pit shell is required for the Inferred
Mineral Resource Estimate due to the gypsum stacks being entirely
above ground level.
-- Mineral resources are not mineral reserves and do not have demonstrated economic viability.
Further metallurgical test work is ongoing with ANSTO Minerals
in Australia to define a preliminary processing flow sheet to
support a scoping study/preliminary economic assessment for the
Phalaborwa project, which is expected to be completed in Q3
2021.
The maiden JORC Mineral Resource has been estimated based on the
assay results received from 1,056.3m of auger drilling completed in
December 2020. The auger drilling was independently assayed by SGS
South Africa on the basis of 1.5m interval samples with appropriate
duplicate, standards and blanks used for QAQC purposes. A further
programme of sonic drilling was undertaken in April 2021 primarily
to recover samples for bulk density estimation - the assay results
from this drill programme were not available at the time of the
initial resource estimation and will be used for a further resource
update ahead of a formal feasibility study for Phalaborwa. Further
drilling/assay samples will also be required to upgrade the mineral
resources to the Measured and Indicated categories required for a
formal feasibility study.
The surface topography of the gypsum stacks was calculated by
use of a LIDAR survey. The Mineral Resource Estimate uses a
1.5t/m(3) estimate for the bulk density of the gypsum stacks, being
the average of the bulk density calculated for competent samples
collected from the sonic drilling programme (1.66t/m(3) ) and the
bulk density calculated from more porous/weathered material near
the surface of the stacks (1.33t/m(3) ). Further work is planned to
validate the overall bulk density of the stacks to upgrade the
mineral resources to the Measured and Indicated categories required
for a formal feasibility study.
Mineral resources were estimated using a block model with a
panel size of 50 x 50 x 3m with block volume resolution down to 5 x
5 x 0.5m. Grades, including rare earth oxides, thorium and uranium,
were estimated by ordinary kriging.
Competent Persons Statement
The Mineral Resource Statement presented herein has been
compiled and classified by Malcolm Titley, a Competent Person who
is a Member of The Australasian Institute of Mining and Metallurgy
and the Australian Institute of Geoscientists. Mr Titley is
employed by Maja Mining Limited, an independent consulting company.
Mr Titley has sufficient experience which is relevant to the style
of mineralisation and type of deposit under consideration and to
the activity which he is undertaking to qualify as a Competent
Person as defined in the 2012 Edition of the 'Australasian Code for
Reporting of Exploration Results, Mineral Resources and Ore
Reserves'. Mr Titley is responsible for the preparation of the
Mineral Resource Estimate and takes overall responsibility for the
resource estimation work and resulting Mineral Resource Statement
and consents to the inclusion in this announcement of the matters
based on their information in the form and context in which it
appears.
Appendix
"Indicated Mineral Resource" is that part of a Mineral Resource
for which quantity, grade or quality, densities, shape and physical
characteristics are estimated with sufficient confidence to allow
the application of mining, processing, metallurgical,
infrastructure, economic, marketing, legal, environmental, social
and governmental factors to support mine planning and evaluation of
the economic viability of the deposit. Geological evidence is
derived from adequately detailed and reliable exploration, sampling
and testing and is sufficient to assume geological and grade or
quality continuity between points of observation. An Indicated
Mineral Resource has a lower level of confidence than that applying
to a Measured Mineral Resource and may only be converted to a
probable mineral reserve.
"Inferred Mineral Resource" is that part of a Mineral Resource
for which quantity and grade or quality are estimated on the basis
of limited geological evidence and sampling. Geological evidence is
sufficient to imply but not verify geological and grade or quality
continuity. An Inferred Mineral Resource has a lower level of
confidence than that applying to an Indicated Mineral Resource and
must not be converted to a mineral reserve. It is reasonably
expected that the majority of Inferred Mineral Resources could be
upgraded to Indicated Mineral Resources with continued exploration.
An Inferred Mineral Resource is based on limited information and
sampling gathered through appropriate techniques from locations
such as outcrops, trenches, pits, workings and drill holes.
"JORC Code" means the 2012 edition of the Australasian Code for
Reporting of Exploration Results, Mineral Resources and Ore
Reserves prepared by the Joint Ore Reserves Committee of the
Australasian Institute of Mining and Metallurgy, Australian
Institute of Geoscientists and Minerals Council of Australia. The
JORC Code is an acceptable foreign code for purposes of NI
43-101.
"Mt" means million tonnes
"Dy" means Dysprosium
"TREO" means Total Rare Earth Oxides
"TB" means Terbium
"Nd" means Neodymium
"Pr" means Praseodymium
Market Abuse Regulation ("MAR") Disclosure
This announcement contains inside information for the purposes
of Article 7 of the Market Abuse Regulation (EU) 596/2014 as it
forms part of UK domestic law by virtue of the European Union
(Withdrawal) Act 2018 ("MAR"), and is disclosed in accordance with
the Company's obligations under Article 17 of MAR.
**S**
For further information, please contact
Rainbow Rare George Bennett
Earths Ltd Company Pete Gardner +27 82 652 8526
SP Angel Corporate Ewan Leggat
Finance LLP Broker Charlie Bouverat +44 (0) 20 3470 0470
--------- ------------------- --------------------------------------
Flagstaff Strategic Tim Thompson +44 (0) 207 129 1474
and Investor Fergus Mellon rainbowrareearths@flagstaffcomms.com
Communications
------------------ --------------------------------------
Notes to Editors:
Rainbow's strategy is to become a globally-significant producer
of rare earth metals. NdPr are vital components of the strongest
permanent magnets used for the motors and turbines driving the
green technology revolution. Analysts are predicting demand for
magnet rare earth oxides will grow substantially over the coming
years, driven by increasing adoption of green technology, pushing
the overall market for NdPr into deficit.
The Phalaborwa Rare Earths Project, located in South Africa,
comprises an Inferred Mineral Resource Estimate of 38.3Mt at 0.43%
TREO contained within gypsum tailings stacked in unconsolidated
dumps derived from historic phosphate hard rock mining. High value
NdPr oxide represent 29.1% of the total contained rare earth
oxides, with economic Dysprosium and Terbium oxide credits
enhancing the overall value of the rare earth basket contained in
the stacks. The rare earths are contained in chemical form in the
gypsum dumps, which is expected to deliver a higher-value rare
earth carbonate, with lower operating costs than a typical rare
earth mineral project.
The Company's Gakara Project in Burundi, which produces one of
the highest-grade concentrates in the world (typically 54% total
rare earths oxides ("TREO")) through ongoing trial mining
operations, is currently the only African producer of rare earths.
The Gakara basket is weighted heavily towards NdPr, which account
for over approximately 19.5% of the contained TREO and 85% of the
value of the concentrate.
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END
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