Meeka’s dream of becoming a critical minerals supplier has been reinforced by the intersection of highest ever rare earth grades at its Circle Valley project.

Assays from the latest batch of eight holes returned rare earth grades of up to 2,439 parts per million (ppm) total rare earth oxides (TREO) with high-value magnet rare earths making up to 45% of the TREO.

Notable intersections are:

  • 8m grading 2,245ppm TREO (44% magnet REO) and 61g/t scandium from 12m (22CVAC188);
  • 8m at 1,432ppm TREO (39% magnet REO) and 15g/t scandium from 28m (22CVAC237); and
  • 8m at 1,236ppm TREO (40% magnet REO) and 43g/t scandium from 20m (22CVAC251).

In addition, the results returned high-grade scandium of up to 74g/t, which could represent a valuable addition to the product mix at the project near Norseman, Western Australia.

Meeka Metals (ASX:MEK) has also returned encouraging results from initial metallurgical test work, which demonstrated total rare earth extraction averaging about 76% and magnet rare earths extraction averaging 82%.

“The sustained delivery of high-grade assays highlights the large-scale, high-grade rare earth opportunity at Circle Valley,” managing director Tim Davidson said.

“Pleasingly, the results continue to display very high proportions of the valuable magnet rare earths, which is an important determinant in the economics of these deposits.

“With metallurgical results now also showing there is a pathway to production of a commercial product, and plans in place for infill drilling and delivery of an initial Mineral Resource this financial year, the team is making excellent progress advancing Circle Valley.”

Clay-hosted rare earths potential

Circle Valley is a clay-hosted deposit, which tends to be cheaper to build and operate compared to more traditional hard rock deposits like Lynas’ massive Mt Weld mine.

Clay deposits are the dominant form of rare earths production in southern China and Myanmar, and tend to have a higher proportion of magnet rare earth elements.

 

 

 

This article was developed in collaboration with Meeka Metals, 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.

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