Rare earth grades of up to 15.10% total rare earth oxides (TREO), together with evidence that mineralisation extends well below surface, are strengthening Kendrick Resources’ confidence that the 14-million-tonne provisional resource at its Teufelskuppe Project in Namibia could represent only a fraction of a much larger rare earth deposit.
The latest drilling programme returned multiple high-grade intersections from the first three diamond drill holes, with hole TKDD002 producing individual pXRF readings of 15.10%, 10.02%, 9.99%, 5.33% and 4.00% TREO, while also intersecting 2.75 metres grading 4.91% TREO from a depth of 109.25 metres.
Hole TKDD003 intersected 10.91% TREO over 1.25 metres, 4.67% TREO over 3.75 metres, 3.15% TREO over 0.5 metres and 2.60% TREO over 1.75 metres, while additional spot readings reached 10.48% TREO between zones of core loss.
Previously unanalysed sections of hole TKDD001 also returned grades of 6.42%, 3.95%, 3.87% and 2.50% TREO, complementing the previously announced intercept of 21.16 metres grading 8.14% TREO, one of the highest-grade continuous rare earth intersections reported from the project.
The results come as Kendrick advances verification of its provisional 14-million-tonne surface mineral resource estimate, announced in May, and simultaneously upgrades it to comply with the internationally recognised JORC (2012) reporting standard.
Chairman Colin Bird said the latest drilling continued to confirm that mineralisation extends beyond surface exposures.
“The continuity of mineralisation is very encouraging, particularly our ability to match extensive surface exposures of mineralisation with depth extensions intersected during drilling. Ultimately, we would expect this continuity to be reflected in the Mineral Resource Estimate.”
According to the company, the current drilling programme is demonstrating that the known surface resource represents only a modest portion of the overall carbonatite system, with mineralisation continuing to mineable depths beneath the natural desert surface.
“The Company projects a much larger resource for the overall project than is known at this time,” Kendrick said.
Development of Teufelskuppe is progressing in line with the company’s development plan announced on 5 May, with drilling continuing while engineers verify the in-house resource model and prepare a maiden JORC-compliant resource estimate.
Kendrick said more than 95% of the rare earth mineralisation comprises light rare earth elements, dominated by cerium, lanthanum, neodymium and praseodymium. Neodymium and praseodymium alone account for approximately 25% of the project’s total rare earth content and are regarded as the principal economic drivers because of their use in permanent magnets for electric vehicles, offshore wind turbines, defence systems and advanced electronics.
The company said Teufelskuppe’s grades continue to rank the carbonatite complex in the upper quartile of global rare earth projects, while the nearby Kieshohe carbonatite, existing infrastructure and established access routes strengthen its prospects as a near-term development opportunity.
If ongoing drilling continues to confirm the scale and continuity of the mineralised system, Kendrick believes Teufelskuppe could become one of the world’s largest newly recognised rare-earth deposits, adding another strategic critical-minerals project to Namibia’s expanding mining sector.
