Resources Top 5: ASX rare earth stocks look Tee-REE-fic as wider market tanks

Significant rare earth discovery confirmed! cries Desert Metals
We got some too, says Mamba Exploration
GCX, Enterprise and Cauldron up on no news

Here are the biggest small cap resources winners in early trade, Friday September 16.

DESERT METALS (ASX:DM1)

“Significant rare earth discovery confirmed!” says DM1, after first assays from a recent 12,745m drilling program at the Innouendy project returned numerous thick, shallow hits like 21m @ 1176ppm from 4m.

Importantly, step out holes across a 20km strike length are hitting both thick clays and large volumes of mafic and ultramafic rock, which could host significant mineralisation.

The rare earths appear to be thick and relatively continuous from the limited results received, DM1 says. Assays remain pending for ~11,600m of drilling.

“This is a great result for the Company to confirm a significant rare earth discovery at an early stage in the exploration programs at the Innouendy Project,” DM1 managing director Rob Stuart says.

“The drill program extends over a 20km area, so we look forward to seeing just how large this system becomes as the remaining 11,000m of assays are returned over the coming weeks.

“Once all assays are compiled, we intend to return to the field as soon as possible to execute a more expansive drill program to test the extent of this exciting discovery.”

DM1 is now up 173% since late August, when it first announced that Innouendy could be The Big One.

MAMBA EXPLORATION (ASX:M24)

Hoping to follow in DM1’s footsteps is minnow M24, which has uncovered a bunch of rare earth targets within its Ashburton/ Gascoyne project tenements in the Gascoyne region of WA.

These anomalies will be assessed with the use of a pXRF (portable x ray gun used to analyse elements in rock).

Recent exploration activities and discoveries made in the region by others — including Dreadnought Resources (ASX DRE) and Kingfisher Mining (ASX KFM) — has highlighted the potential of the region, M24 says.

“The Gascoyne has long been the “forgotten” part of the mineral endowment of Western Australia,” managing director Mike Dunbar says.

“Thanks to the recent discoveries in the region made by Dreadnought and Kingfisher, this has finally changed, and we are pleased that the potential is starting to be recognised.

“Our tenement package, which covers approximately 610 km2, was secured in 2020 as part of our IPO on the belief that the potential of the area could host significant discoveries, which appears to be being vindicated.”

The $7m market cap stock is down 17% year-to-date.

ENTERPRISE METALS (ASX:ENT)

(Up on no news)

ENT is a bit of a project generator, meaning it partners with other (usually more cashed up) companies to help pay for exploration across its portfolio of projects – spreading the risk, and the reward.

Here’s why project generators are favoured by famous investor Rick Rule.

It currently has earn-in JVs with Sandfire Resources (ASX:SFR) and Constellation Resources (ASX:CR1), as well as a handful wholly owned projects.

Earlier this month a airborne EM survey – designed to see’ beneath the surface – kicked off at the Murchison project WA, looking for zinc and copper.

Between April 2019 and 1 January 2022, Murchison was managed and wholly funded by major gold miner Evolution Mining (ASX:EVN).

A detailed gravity survey (250m x 250m) was completed by EVN but no electrical geophysics or drilling was undertaken, and EVN withdrew from the Farm-in Joint Venture on 17 January 2022 with no retained interest.

GCX METALS (ASX:GCX)

(Up on no news)

The small cap formerly known as Paringa Resources re-joined the ASX in late June, after a period in bourse purgatory.

The recapped company is now focused on the Onslow copper-gold project in WA, where it has identified 11 early-stage targets “worthy of follow up exploration”.

The Company has engaged a drilling contractor to undertake a 4,000m air-core (AC) drilling program over certain priority targets late this month.

A ground EM program is also due to kick off in September.

CAULDRON ENERGY (ASX:CXU)

(Up on no news)

When the WA state government implemented a ban on most new uranium mines in 2017, CXU stopped work at its flagship ‘Yanrey’ uranium project and began searching for other dirt to play with.

It now has a historic gold project called ‘Blackwood’ in Victoria and a silica sands play called ‘Ashburton’ in WA.

It is also poking around Yanrey again, which is a lot more interesting now that uranium prices and sentiment are on the move.

“The Bennett Well deposit contains greater than 30 million lb of uranium oxide and remains one of the largest undeveloped uranium deposits in Australia,” CXU said in its June quarterly.

“No on ground exploration was undertaken during the quarter due to the Western Australian State Government’s ban on uranium mining and development activities since June 2017.

“Ways to continue to progress and demonstrate the potential of the project continue to be investigated.”

The $7m market cap stock is down 60% year-to-date.