Resources Top 5: RareX taps Iluka in major Kenyan partnership to ride rare earths wave

News.com.au

22-04-2025

RareX has formed a consortium with Iluka Resources to apply for the Mrima Hill rare earth project in Kenya
Jindalee Lithium's McDermitt project is one of 10 in the US granted FAST-41 'Transparency Project' status
Drilling is expected to start in around six weeks at the Elizabeth Hill silver project
Your standout small cap resources stocks for Tuesday, April 22, 2025.
RareX (ASX:REE)
Enhancing its role in the critical minerals space is RareX through a consortium with $1.62bn producer Iluka Resources (ASX:ILU) to apply for the Mrima Hill rare earth project in Kenya and the proposed formation of a special purpose vehicle (SPV) for its de-risking and development.
Mrima Hill is a globally significant rare earth project in Kwale County in Kenya, just 15km from the Indian Ocean coast, next to a sealed highway and close to geothermal power grids. It is also prospective for phosphate, niobium and manganese.
Formal submission for Mrima Hill has been made by the consortium to Kenya's National Mining Corporation (NAMICO) under Kenya Mining Act chapter 306, Laws of Kenya which, if successful, will see the proposal presented to the cabinet secretary for Mining, Blue Economy and Maritime Affairs to contemplate the formation of a joint venture with NAMICO.
The SPV will allow RareX to take the lead in the project focusing on community engagement, environmental protection and technical derisking through studies and field work, aligned to RareX's skills and experiences from its Cummins Range project, which is a similar style deposit.
If the proposal is successful, Iluka will be granted 25% ownership in the SPV with RareX for at least a 20% economic interest in the project throughout the prospecting licence phase and until a Mining Licence is granted.
The consortium agreement includes a binding conditional offtake term sheet with Iluka for all rare earth and heavy mineral product from Mrima Hill with rare earths having the potential to feed Iluka's Eneabba refinery in Western Australia, which is under construction and supported by an $1.65bn Federal Government non-recourse loan.
'This agreement shows that RareX has got significant ambition in the rare earth space,' RareX's managing director James Durrant said. 'That's exactly what the company was set up for, to go after large-scale rare earth projects that will participate in the global supply chain.
'That was started with Cummins Range, which is Australia's largest undeveloped rare earth project. This one we targeted in Kenya is one of the largest known deposits, still fairly early stage and needs de-risking, but that is where Iluka comes in.
'Iluka has got a great facility that's taxpayer funded with that $1.65bn loan but it doesn't have long-term quality feedstock. We've got a vision for the project and I think Iluka liked the vision.
"It's going to do wonders for a facility that has, to date, not yet received the level of appreciation that it's needed to receive.'
To achieve a social licence to operate RareX, which has been as much as 24.4% higher to 4.6c before an afternoon retrace, intends to build local teams with support from experienced companies that specialise in community development.
This includes employing, where possible, relevant teams previously established to support the Kwale Mineral Sands Operation which has entered its closure phase. The Kwale operation, previously owned by Australian company Base Resources (ASX:BSE), is close to the Mrima Hill project.
'This partnership will enable RareX to leverage Iluka's expertise and resources as we work toward creating a major, multi-commodity project in Kenya, where the rare earths components are integrated with an Australian, government backed, value chain,' Durrant said.
'If successful, the project could become part of a unique and independent mine to rare earth metal solution, backed by allied governments, and could contribute to deeper diplomatic relations between two Commonwealth countries, both non-NATO strategic allies of the US and both members of the Indian Ocean Rim Association.
'Our proposal would allow Australia to provide the complex rare earth value-add in a critical metals value chain, whilst providing Kenya with a major mining project and a domestic supply of manganese, niobium and phosphate for the local steel and agricultural sectors.'
Jindalee Lithium (ASX:JLL)
In a significant boost for Jindalee Lithium, the company's McDermitt lithium project is one of just 10 mining projects across the US to be granted FAST-41 'Transparency Project' status and investors initially welcomed the designation with JLL shares as much as 65% higher to 42c, before a colossal afternoon crash that saw its share trip into the red.
FAST-41 is a legislatively established process for improving federal agency coordination and timeliness of environmental reviews for infrastructure projects, as established by Title 41 of the Fixing America's Surface Transportation Act.
The permitting progress of the initial 10 can be publicly tracked, part of what the Trump administration calls a push for greater transparency and faster permitting. Many more projects are expected to be added to the list on a rolling basis over the next few weeks.
'This transparency leads to greater accountability, ensuring a more efficient process,' the White House said in a statement.
'For too long, duplicative processes and regulatory paralysis have delayed the development of the minerals America needs to power everything from national defense systems to smartphones,' said acting assistant secretary for Land and Minerals Management Adam Suess.
'By cutting red tape and increasing accountability, we're making it clear that under President Trump, the United States is serious about being a global leader in critical minerals.'
One of the primary barriers to unlocking America's mineral wealth is the lengthy and often duplicative permitting process, which can stretch seven to 10 years for a single mine. In contrast, countries like Australia and Canada complete permitting in as little as two to five years.
This permitting gridlock discourages domestic production, drives up costs for American manufacturers and increases dependence on foreign adversaries.
Jindalee said this highlighted McDermitt's strategic importance and growing profile in bolstering US critical minerals supply chains and energy security.
"Being named among the first 10 FAST-41 Transparency Projects validates McDermitt's strategic importance to US mineral security' Jindalee's CEO Ian Rodger said.
'Inclusion on the Federal Permitting Dashboard highlights our project's national significance, offering greater transparency and federal support to advance our Exploration Plan of Operations (EPO), currently in the final stages of National Environmental Policy Act (NEPA) review with an Environmental Assessment recently published for public comment.
'Once approved, the EPO will allow further on-site activity, including drilling to provide additional geological and environmental data, as well as fresh samples for geotechnical studies and further metallurgical test work.
'Jindalee remains committed to developing McDermitt transparently and responsibly, collaborating closely with federal and state agencies to realise this critical US lithium asset's full potential.'
Errawarra Resources (ASX:ERW)
New ASX silver player Errawarra Resources expects to start drilling within six weeks at the Elizabeth Hill mine with the aim of giving one of Australia's highest grade silver mines a new lease on life.
It is the latest step in Errawarra's transformation into silver, with a May 19 general meeting date set to approve the acquisition of a 70% stake in the historical mine in WA's Pilbara.
ERW is already well advanced on exploration plans for the mine, which produced 1.2Moz of the precious metal at a head grade of 2194 grams per tonne before its closure in 2000.
Soon to be renamed West Coast Silver, Errawarra is in the advanced stages of finalising high-priority drill targets, with a drilling contract expected to be awarded soon.
Geological, structural mapping and soil sampling is already taking place, with assays from soil sampling expected in 5-6 weeks.
Silver was trading at US$5 an ounce when Elizabeth Hill closed 25 years ago. Now the metal is closing on 13-year highs of US$35/oz, as growing silver use in solar panels and safe haven demand pushes the commodity higher.
Experts say silver could break through all time highs of US$50/oz in the current precious metals bull market.
Errawarra has raised $3 million ahead of the finalisation of the deal and the start of drilling at the project.
Drilling is expected to test potential down-plunge extensions of known mineralisation and provide further geological content to the Elizabeth Hill mineral system.
'I'm very pleased with the rapid progress we're making across multiple fronts at Elizabeth Hill,' Errawarra Resources executive director Bruce Garlick said.
'The team is doing an excellent job finalising high-priority drill targets and advancing both the soil sampling and mapping programs.
'These are important steps in refining our understanding of the project and preparing for drilling.'
Advance Metals (ASX:AVM)
(Up on no news)
Still riding a golden wave from last week's 'fantastic' results from the Myrtleford project in northeast Victoria is Advance Metals, up another 16.7% to a daily high of 5.6c on volume of almost 45 million.
The results of up to 446g/t gold came from AVM's maiden drilling program at the high-grade project, at which the company recently entered a binding agreement with Serra Energy Metals Corp to acquire an 80% interest via joint venture together with the Beaufort gold project.
Diamond drilling at Happy Valley prospect returned 7.5m at 47.9g/t Au from 178.1m including 1.3m at 271.6g/t and 3.3m at 11.0g/t from 156.5m including 0.55m at 68.1g/t in hole AMD00 while hole AMD002 returned 2.9m at 6.7g/t Au from 208.8m, including 0.5m at 36.6g/t.
Multiple zones of high-grade mineralisation in AMD003, along with peak grades up to 446g/t gold, extend the system to the northwest and present follow-up potential up and down dip.
These results from the second and third diamond drill holes follow the strong results from the first hole, which returned 8.2 metres at 22.4g/t Au including 3.2 metres at 54.7g/t.
'Once again we are seeing fantastic results returned from the Happy Valley Prospect at Myrtleford,' managing director Adam McKinnon said.
'In combination with previous drilling and the recent result from AMD001, we have now defined a coherent ultra-high grade zone with potential extensions in multiple directions.
'Hole AMD003, in particular, is now one of the best holes ever drilled at Myrtleford with three separate high grade zones and individual gold assays up 446g/t.
'Further, the initial logging results from hole AMD004 makes it four-from-four for the program in terms of visible gold hits.'
Somerset Minerals (ASX:SMM)
Another positive move was made by Somerset Minerals, up 33% to 1.2c, after raising $2.4M in a placement with funds for a maiden drill campaign at the flagship Coppermine project in Canada.
There was strong demand for the two-tranche placement at 0.9c a share from new and existing investors
Tranche 1 raised $590,000 utilising Listing Rule 7.1 and 7.1A placement capacities and
Tranche 2 will raise $1.8M subject to shareholder approval
The company's maiden exploration campaign at Coppermine is scheduled to early July and will include a ~1,500m drill campaign and regional surface sampling campaign in areas where historical rock chip samples include 45.4% Cu and 60.0 g/t Ag along with 44.1% Cu and 263.0 g/t Ag.
Permitting is well advanced, with the final approvals expected in the next 1–2 weeks.
Acquisition of the project remains subject to several conditions, including shareholder approval at a General Meeting on Wednesday, April 23, 2025.
"We are delighted by the strong support received from new and existing investors, which reflects growing recognition of Somerset's unique position in the market. With a depressed market valuation, a tight capital structure, and multiple near-term catalysts ahead, we believe this represents an attractive entry point," managing director Chris Hansen said.