Narryer is on the hunt for rare earths in South Australia

Narryer has kicked off its search for clay-hosted ionic adsorption rare earth elements at its Sturt and Ceduna projects in South Australia.

The cost-effective initiative will see the company test for REE in 300 to 400 previously untested drill holes across both project areas from samples held in the state’s Core Library.

It follows on from the recent discovery of clay-hosted REE mineralisation at the Comet project that is just 25km north-northeast of Sturt.

Narryer Metals (ASX:NYM) adds that saprolitic clay-hosted REE mineralisation has also been identified in the Gawler Craton on the Eyre Peninsula by iTech Minerals (ASX:ITM) at the Caralue Bluff project.

Its REE exploration will be in addition to planned exploration for magmatic nickel-copper-PGE mineralisation in the area as well as exploration at its namesake nickel-copper-PGE (REE) project in Western Australia.

Ionic adsorption clays

IACs are a key source of REE in China and are typically considered to be one of the lowest cost sources of valuable heavy and critical REEs.

This type of mineralisation is typically found at or near surface, making it easy to mine, while its properties make it comparatively easy to process.

The company will focus initially on samples taken from the historical drilling to determine if REEs are present at its two projects.

Any anomalous REE intervals identified by a portable XRF machine will be further assayed at a certified laboratory with follow-up drilling to follow up on anomalous results.

It has also applied for a further 1,300km2 of tenure in the Ceduna project area over prospective stratigraphy containing a population of 189 drill holes through thin sedimentary cover and evidence of saprolitic clay development.

This article was developed in collaboration with Narryer 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.