OD6 Metals has set ASX tongues wagging with a maiden mineral resource of 344 million tonnes at 1308 parts per million total rare earth oxides (TREO) for its flagship Splinter Rock project near Esperance – in just over a year since its market listing.
The company believes the operation is emerging as one of the biggest and highest-grade clay-hosted rare earths resources in Australia and includes 149 million tonnes at 1423ppm TREO at its stand-out Centre prospect. And the market clearly agreed today with OD6’s shares jumping nearly 45 per cent to touch 32.5 cents following a brief trading halt on Monday after closing last week at 22.5c.
Giving a poignant eye to future growth potential, the company’s impressive maiden resource is based on less than 5 per cent of the targeted clay basin area at the 2579-square-kilometre operation, using a cut-off grade of 1000ppm TREO. OD6 has identified four specific prospect areas from drilling and geophysics that have contributed to the new resource – its Centre, Scrum, Prop and Flanker targets.
Scrum adds 120 million tonnes at 1222ppm TREO to the total resource and has been identified along with Centre as a major focus of the third phase of exploration that will include a 188-hole air-core (AC) campaign through 10,000m of drilling.
The company says the value of magnetic rare earth oxides (MREO) represents an average of 23 per cent of the TREO grade.
With less than 5% of our clay basin area tested and phase three drilling underway, over the next 6 to 18months there is significant potential to grow the resource base and by applying our geometallurgical exploration techniques prioritise the ‘best of the best’ in terms of grade, MagREO content, thickness and metallurgical recovery is the backbone of the company’s focus and we look forward to both expanding the current resource and zeroing in on our high-priority areas. OD6 Metals managing director Brett Hazleden
The company only listed in June last year and officially kicked off drilling at Splinter Rock two months later. Earlier this year, the company completed its second phase of drilling, with 74 of its 83 holes returning significant grades and thickness, with impressive results including 3m at 6605ppm TREO from 57m and a 69m intercept going 1483ppm TREO from 24m.
Last year’s maiden 65-hole drill campaign at Splinter Rock unveiled a broad parcel of clay-hosted mineralisation with grades of up to 6726ppm TREO. Assay highlights from the program include 6m at 4139ppm TREO from 27m, 6m grading 3262ppm from 30m, 18m running 2249ppm from 21m and 7m going 2279ppm from a shallow depth of just 45m.
In April, the company recorded notable recovery rates from multiple prospects to a high of 96 per cent MREO. Prop showed recoveries of between 44 per cent and 96 per cent MREO at an average of 71 per cent, while Centre achieved rates between 54 per cent and 78 per cent, also at an average recovery of 71 per cent.
The Scrum and Flanker prospects recorded respective recoveries of 64 per cent and 74 per cent MREO, based on a single sample from each target.
Splinter Rock is about 150km north-east of Esperance and comprises six exploration licences. OD6 also holds the Grass Patch project about 100km north-west of Esperance, with a tenement area of more than 2200sq km.
The ongoing phase-three exploration campaign at Splinter Rock will focus on infill drilling to upgrade its current inferred mineral resource into the indicated category. Follow-up metallurgical testing will be used to design an appropriate flow sheet based on an open-pit mining method.
It is not hard to see why OD6 believes there is plenty of room to expand its maiden mineral resource at Splinter Rock, with only 5 per cent of its target area used to determine its latest figure. Mr Hazleden told Bulls N’ Bears he was confident the company could at least double its resource once assays from the latest drill campaign were returned and considering that the 188-hole phase-three program significantly expands on the 262 holes in the first two phases.
OD6’s Splinter Rock prospects are all named after rugby positions and it might well be “try time” for this company very soon.
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