Perpetual’s Raptor soars on confirmation it’s an ionic-hosted rare earths play

• Perpetual Resources testing proves that Raptor mineralisation is ionic adsorption clay in nature
• Testing achieved magnet REE recoveries of up to 94%
• Raptor metallurgy compares favourably with that at Meteoric’s Caldeira project

Special Report: Metallurgical testing has proved that rare earths mineralisation at Perpetual Resources’ Raptor project in Brazil’s Minas Gerais state are of the much sought-after ionic adsorption clay variety.

IAC rare earth projects are very highly sought after due to their potential to deliver low-cost, high-margin operations despite their relatively low grades.

Operations are characterised by simple mining and processing methodology, non-radioactive products and waste, as well as attractive mineralogy and saleable product composition, which is weighted towards the valuable magnet REEs such as neodymium-praseodymium (NdPr) and dysprosium-terbium (DyTb).

To say that Perpetual Resources (ASX:PEC) is pleased all nine tests conducted on composite samples collected from maiden drilling confirm that Raptor mineralisation is IAC in nature is probably understating things somewhat.

After all, the testing by the Australian Nuclear Science and Technology Organisation also returned high recoveries of NdPr and DyTb at all prospects despite being carried out under unoptimised conditions, achieving magnet REE recoveries of up to 94%.

Notably, the results indicate that Raptor’s metallurgy compares favourably to Meteoric Resources’ (ASX:MEI) nearby Caldeira project that has just seen resources increase 50% to 1.1 billion tonnes grading 2413ppm TREO that includes 559ppm magnet rare earth oxides.

“These outstanding metallurgical results confirm Raptor as a genuine ionic adsorption clay rare earth discovery, with exceptional recoveries of key magnet rare earth elements,” executive chairman Julian Babarczy said.

“Seeing up to 94% recoveries of the magnet rare earth elements is highly encouraging and reinforces the project’s strong potential.

“With low impurity levels and favourable metallurgy, Raptor is emerging as a highly attractive REE asset, in a Tier-1 jurisdiction.

“We are now advancing follow-up work programs to unlock further value from this exciting discovery.”

Metallurgical testing

The overall objective of the work program was to assess the leachability of the REE mineralisation across the Raptor project.

Desorption tests indicate the presence of moderate to high quantities of desorbable REEs with eight of the nine samples returning extractions of more than 50% though magnet REEs returned the best recoveries with an average of 69% across all samples.

PEC notes that the low cerium recovery rate – less than 15% – across the samples is beneficial for selective recovery of the high value magnet REEs and reduced costs in downstream processing.

Average thorium and uranium assays are 52ppm and 9ppm respectively, which are comparable to other IAC deposits.

Two of the samples were selected for mineralogical characterisation using QEMSCAN and manual scanning electron microscopy.

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Raptor project

The four Raptor licences cover 318 hectares within the 800km2 Poços de Caldas Alkaline Complex in the Caldeira REE region of Minas Gerais – Brazil’s powerhouse mining state.

They are divided into the Portão Verde, Pina Colada and Pinheirinho project areas which are all within a 3km radius.

REE mineralisation is contained in nepheline syenite and related alkaline intrusives formed during major magmatic events while intense weathering has led to an extensive clay regolith.

Nearby projects such as Caldeira have identified mineralisation through shallow drilling and sampling.

Maiden drilling by PEC had returned assays such as 5m grading 5591ppm TREO ending in 5533ppm TREO and 12m at 4601ppm TREO from 6m that ended in 3846ppm TREO.

Individual drill holes have also returned NdPr ratios of up to 35%.

Next steps

PEC is now planning to carry out a Phase 2 drill program at Raptor that will be scheduled and implemented when appropriate.

This drilling will likely target depth extensions to the known high-grade zones, with expansion into underexplored areas where relevant, and advance the project towards a JORC-compliant resource.

The company will also consider carrying out further detailed metallurgical analysis.

Any additional metallurgical studies will be undertaken following further drilling and completion of project goals.

This article was developed in collaboration with Perpetual Resources, 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.