Phalaborwa High Grade Assay Results

RNS Number : 8709O

Rainbow Rare Earths Limited

12 February 2021

 

Rainbow Rare Earths Limited

("Rainbow" or the "Company")

(LSE: RBW)

12 February 2021

Assay Results from Phalaborwa Indicate 0.5% TREO Grade, Confirming the High-Grade Nature of the Mineralisation

Rainbow Rare Earths Ltd is pleased to announce the first batch of assay results of the auger drilling programme completed at the Phalaborwa Rare Earths Project ("Phalaborwa" or the "Project") located in South Africa, which confirm:

· Average in situ grade of 0.50% total rare earths oxide ("TREO").

· Average in-situ combined grade of 0.15% Neodymium and Praseodymium ("NdPr") oxide, representing 29.7% of the TREO grade reported in the rare earths basket.

· 29.7% NdPr represents one of the highest weightings of NdPr in a rare earths basket of any project in the world.

These initial results, received from 178 of the 708 total samples from the 1,056-metre drilling programme, demonstrate the expected homogenous nature of the rare earth mineralisation in the gypsum stacks. They are also supportive of previous indications from the Sasol sample and test work programme.  

Results are included in a table below. Further assay results will be announced shortly, followed by the estimation and publication of an JORC (2012) Mineral Resource Estimate within the estimated +/-35 million tonne gypsum stacks.

George Bennett, CEO, said: "These assay results go a long way to confirming the substantial tonnage and value of the Phalaborwa Rare Earths Project in terms of both in-situ grade and the consistency of the high value NdPr content in the rare earths basket. The results also demonstrate extremely low levels of radioactive elements present in the stacks, substantially below the low radioactive levels which we have seen to date for other rare earth projects globally. This factor simplifies the optimised processing flow sheet from Sasol's initial pilot plant flow sheet, developed to extract the rare earth mineralisation from the gypsum. These assays also highlight the environmentally advantageous characteristics of the Phalaborwa project, which we believe will position Rainbow as a leading example of a 'green' rare earth Company, producing the elements required for the clean energy revolution.

These are very high grades for a low-cost project of this type, which is potentially homogenous in nature, with minimal geological uncertainty, no waste stripping requirements and where the gypsum, which is already in a 'cracked' chemical form, is ready to process. The results further underscore Phalaborwa's potential to drive Rainbow's strategy to become a globally-significant producer of rare earth metals."

For further information, please contact:

Rainbow Rare Earths Ltd	Company	George Bennett Pete Gardner	[phone]
SP Angel Corporate Finance LLP	Broker	Ewan Leggat Charlie Bouverat	[phone]
Flagstaff Strategic and Investor Communications		Tim Thompson Fergus Mellon	[phone] [e-mail]

Qualified Person

Mr Malcolm Titley, an independent consultant, full time employee of Maja Mining Limited and Competent Person as defined by the JORC Code. Mr Titley has visited the Phalaborwa site, reviewed the auger drilling programme, visited the analytical laboratory and approved the information contained in this announcement. Malcom Titley is a Member of both the Australasian Institute of Mining and Metallurgy and Australian Institute of Geologists.

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 Company's Gakara Project in Burundi, which produces one of the highest-grade concentrates in the world (typically 54% 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.

The Phalaborwa Rare Earths Project, located in South Africa, comprises approximately 35 million tonnes of gypsum tailings stacked in unconsolidated dumps derived from historic phosphate hard rock mining, containing rare earth elements with an initial estimated average in situ grade of 0.6% TREO, based on previous sampling campaigns, of which +/- 30% comprises high-value NdPr. 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.

Assay results:

Hole  ID	Length	Ce	Dy	Er	Eu	Gd	Ho	La	Lu	Nd	Pr	Sm	Tb	Tm	Y	Yb	TREO	LREO	HREO	CREO	NdPr	Th	U
	m	ppm	ppm	ppm	ppm	ppm	ppm	ppm	ppm	ppm	ppm	ppm	ppm	ppm	ppm	ppm	ppm	ppm	ppm	ppm	%	ppm	ppm
PAH01	12.0	1,650	33	7	31	131	4	695	0	946	217	177	14	0	69	2	4,653	3,002	1,652	1,280	29	43	3
PAH02	9.0	1,747	32	6	33	115	4	723	0	1,011	229	159	12	0	54	2	4,829	3,162	1,666	1,336	30	46	2
PAH03	10.5	1,859	34	7	34	105	4	794	0	1,055	240	142	11	0	50	2	5,076	3,390	1,687	1,384	30	47	1
PAH04	12.0	1,956	34	7	35	98	4	817	0	1,118	254	138	10	0	50	2	5,293	3,547	1,746	1,458	30	50	1
PAH05	10.5	1,800	33	7	32	93	4	759	0	1,026	235	128	10	0	53	2	4,894	3,273	1,621	1,350	30	47	2
PAH08	18.0	2,073	42	8	34	126	5	869	0	1,187	270	172	15	1	69	3	5,703	3,763	1,939	1,577	30	40	2
PAH09	18.0	2,006	43	8	33	124	5	841	0	1,155	263	167	15	1	75	3	5,548	3,644	1,904	1,547	30	42	2
PAH10	19.5	1,685	36	7	28	93	5	694	0	978	224	128	11	1	68	2	4,635	3,050	1,585	1,314	30	37	2
PAH11	15.0	2,033	37	7	37	86	4	864	0	1,152	263	116	9	0	56	3	5,462	3,703	1,760	1,510	30	41	2
PAH14	21.0	1,835	38	7	31	115	5	755	0	1,052	251	161	12	1	71	3	5,078	3,329	1,749	1,411	30	44	2
PAH15	21.0	1,678	35	7	30	110	4	680	0	962	238	157	10	1	67	2	4,660	3,043	1,618	1,294	30	40	2
PAH16	21.0	1,629	33	6	29	102	4	660	0	928	232	149	9	1	63	2	4,502	2,953	1,548	1,244	30	41	2
PAH17	18.0	1,798	38	7	33	121	5	762	0	1,040	253	177	9	3	82	2	5,069	3,296	1,773	1,408	30	44	1
PAH23	16.5	1,728	41	8	34	128	5	825	0	1,036	238	185	1	13	104	2	5,093	3,271	1,822	1,427	29	44	2
PAH29	13.5	1,621	44	9	33	130	6	783	0	968	223	176	1	13	109	3	4,826	3,078	1,748	1,357	29	46	2
PAH34	9.0	1,445	38	7	30	119	5	676	0	877	200	158	1	12	96	2	4,292	2,719	1,573	1,224	29	48	2
PAH35	13.5	1,604	43	9	34	134	6	785	0	964	219	174	1	13	115	3	4,808	3,057	1,751	1,359	29	50	2
PAH39	9.0	1,411	39	8	30	123	5	689	0	844	193	155	1	12	108	3	4,242	2,687	1,555	1,201	28	44	3
Total	267.0
Average		1,769	37	7	32	114	5	760	0	1,024	239	157	9	4	75	2	4,957	3,243	1,714	1,380	30	43	2

Table key:
ppm	parts per million
Ce	Cerium
Dy	Dysprosium
Er	Erbium
Eu	Europium
Gd	Gadolinium
Ho	Holmium
La	Lanthanum
Lu	Lutetium
Nd	Neodymium
Pr	Praseodymium
Sm	Samarium
Tb	Terbium
Tm	Thulium
Y	Yttrium
Yb	Ytterbium
TREO	Total Rare Earths Oxides
LREO	Light Rare Earths Oxides
HREO	Heavy Rare Earths Oxides
CREO	Critical Rare Earth Oxides
NdPr	Neodymium and Praseodymium
Th	Thorium
U	Uranium

 

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