Codrus Minerals is set to launch an exploration blitz at its Karloning rare earths project in Western Australia’s Wheatbelt region after raising nearly $1 million through binding commitments to a well-supported equity placement.
Management says it has secured $920,000 through the raise, which combined with existing cash of $1.8 million, brings its spending money total to more than $2.7 million.
The company is planning an airborne electromagnetic survey across the Karloning operation to target areas with thicker clay zones above prospective granite source rocks. It will be followed up with an air-core (AC) drill campaign in a bid to define the scale of the project, with additional drilling to advance the site to exploration status.
The latest funding will also be used to conduct a soil and rock-chip sampling program at the company’s Middle Creek gold project, about 185km north of Newman and 10km east of the small township of Nullagine in the East Pilbara region. Management says there has been little historic exploration at Middle Creek, with work completed including surface geochemistry, geophysical surveys and prospecting.
This capital raising will allow us to expand our ongoing exploration efforts at the exciting Karloning Rare Earth Projects in Western Australia. Combined with our existing cash position of $1.8 million (at 30 June 2023), the raising puts us in a strong position to unlock the value of the Karloning Project by expanding our exploration efforts and evaluating the broader potential of the discovery. Codrus Minerals managing director Shannan Bamforth
Just last week, the company unearthed some encouraging rare earths AC drill hits including 29m at 5915 parts per million total rare earth oxides and yttrium oxide (TREYO) at its Karloning project. That drill intersection included a 12m thick lens grading a staggering 12,366ppm TREYO.
Codrus’ share price responded accordingly, jumping 73 per cent from a close of 7.8 cents the previous week to touch as high as 13.5c last Tuesday. Management believes the results substantially expand the scale and potential of its clay-hosted rare earths project, with 42 of the holes returning noteworthy intersections defined as being greater than 800ppm TREYO.
Other results include 20m grading 1554ppm TREYO from 8m, including 4m at 2014ppm from 18m and 14m going 1423ppm from 12m, including 2m going 1931ppm from 16m.
Additional hits show 10m at 1812ppm TREYO from 8m, including 2m grading 2194ppm from 16m, 10m reading 1540ppm from 14m and 12m going 1337ppm from 6m, including 2m at 2156ppm from 8m.
Significantly, up to 24 per cent of the rare earths enrichment is contained in the high-value magnetic rare earth oxides (MREO) that are critical for manufacturing electric motor magnets.
With just six per cent of its landholding drilled to date and mineralisation to the north remaining open, the company’s punt to expand its landholding more than 16-fold to cover 246 square kilometres over the highly-perspective tenure appears set to pay off.
The Karloning project is only about 30km north of the Wheatbelt town of Mukinbudin, which can be easily accessed by sealed roads, and about 298km east of Perth.
And the fact that Codrus directors have committed to taking additional shares, subject to shareholder approval, surely must mean they are confident of what is to come.
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