European Lithium shares high-grade gallium and rare earths from historical drill holes

• European Lithium reports up to 140ppm gallium and 28% HREO at Tanbreez project from historical drilling
• Gallium results flag potential new supply of critical mineral
• Company also looking to upgrade Fjord resource estimate in the near-term

Special Report: European Lithium says new assays from 10 historical holes at its Tanbreez project in Greenland have returned exceptionally high-grade gallium and rare earth results.

EUR owns 68% of Critical Metals Corp, which owns 42% of Tanbreez and has the right to earn up to 92.5%.

Tanbreez is one of the world’s largest hard rock rare earth elements (REE) deposits and is notable for its high concentration of heavy rare earth oxides (HREOs), which are critical for high-tech applications, clean energy and defence industries.

However, unlike other major TREO deposits, the project contains very low levels of uranium and thorium, making it more environmentally and politically viable.

Ten diamond drill holes from 2010 within the Hill deposit resource estimate have been assayed for the first time, flagging between 80-140ppm gallium oxide and 0.32-0.89% TREO with 27% HREO – and 1.01-3.34% zirconium.

The historic drilling results have also confirmed high-grade TREO between 0.38-0.51% with 28% HREO at the Fjord deposit and between 0.42-0.48% with 26% HREO at the Hill deposit.

European Lithium (ASX:EUR) says the gallium results are particularly interesting as – while not typically the primary economic driver in REE deposits – gallium at this concentration exceeds average crustal abundance (~17 ppm), which indicates the potential for a bulk-tonnage alkaline intrusive system.

Gallium potential could be critical for supply chains

“These exceptional results underscore the strategic value of Tanbreez as a rare earth and gallium project with scale, grade and a high proportion of critical heavy rare earths,” EUR CEO and executive chairman Tony Sage said.

“With China’s ban on gallium exports to the United States, securing domestic sources of these critical minerals has become paramount for U.S. defence capabilities and national security.

“Our gallium results, combined with our rare earth grades, positions Tanbreez as a strategically important asset for Western supply chains.”

EUR is also awaiting assay results from 2024 drilling and is progressing a diamond drilling program to upgrade the resource estimate at the Fjord deposit, which hosts an indicated resource of 8.76Mt and an inferred resource of 13.8Mt totalling 22.56Mt.

The aim is to optimise the resource for future production capacity and to extend the mine life of the Tanbreez project.

“The progress we’ve made, processing all 2024 drill cores, submitting 50% of samples for assay, and already completing over 1,200 metres of drilling as part of our 2025 Fjord resource upgrade program, puts us in a strong position to build on our significant resource base,” Sage said.

“With further assays pending and more drilling underway, we see strong potential to grow the scale and world class nature of the project’s mineral inventory.”

This article was developed in collaboration with European Lithium, a Stockhead advertiser at the time of publishing.

This article does not constitute financial product advice. You should consider obtaining independent advice before making any financial decisions.