Terrain Minerals has made a significant discovery at its Lort River project, located 50 kilometers northwest of Esperance in Western Australia. The company's recent aircore drilling has revealed a broad rare earths mineralized system, with 71% of the drill holes yielding anomalous mineralization. One particular hole, LTAC028, stands out with its high-grade rare earths-rich zone, returning an impressive 8-meter interval assaying 3349 parts per million (ppm) total rare earth oxides (TREO), with heavy rare earth oxides (HREO) comprising 33% of the interval. This includes a remarkable 6-meter slice with a TREO of 4230 ppm and a best run of 3 meters at 5568 ppm, accompanied by a 37% HREO component. The presence of heavy rare earth elements such as dysprosium and terbium is particularly significant, as they are essential in the production of permanent magnets for electric vehicle motors, wind turbines, and defense equipment. The local availability of these elements could be a game-changer, as they are less readily available outside China.
The 35-hole, 897-meter program targeted a 66-square-kilometer clay-rich regolith basin, initially identified through airborne electromagnetic surveying. Terrain's previous geophysics had already mapped conductive, weathered horizons, which the company believed could host clay-style rare earth mineralization. The latest drilling results have validated this hypothesis, with rare earths detected in 25 out of 35 holes. The system's scale is further supported by additional zones, such as a 60-meter interval at 530 ppm TREO from 27 meters depth and a 45-meter intercept at 455 ppm TREO from 12 meters. Ten of the holes bottomed out in mineralization, suggesting the system may extend below the depths tested.
Terrain's Lort River project is shaping up to be a significant rare earths discovery. The rare earths basket, with neodymium and praseodymium accounting for almost a quarter of the project's rare earth oxide mix, is a strong selling point. The presence of high-value dysprosium, terbium, and yttrium further enhances the project's potential. Terrain is also addressing the processing challenge often associated with clay-hosted rare earth projects by collaborating with the Western Australian Government-backed Minerals Research Institute of Western Australia (MRIWA) and Curtin University. The MRIWA-backed test work using ammonium sulphate leaching has shown negligible recoveries from Lort River samples, indicating that the mineralization is non-ionic and hosted in clay-bound minerals such as monazite.
Terrain is now re-splitting the better-than-200 ppm TREO hits from the original composite samples, with pending analyses from the one-meter re-split samples. The results will provide a more detailed picture of the downhole grade profiles, guiding the planning for a follow-up reverse-circulation (RC) drilling program. This program will help define the depth and local lateral extent of the mineralization, supporting future resource definition. Terrain's forward program also includes ranking the best zones, assessing the relationship between high-grade and heavy rare earth areas, and revisiting a 3-meter surface composite with a TREO of 5725 ppm.
In conclusion, Terrain Minerals has made a significant breakthrough at the Lort River project, with a broad rare earths mineralized system and a high-grade discovery. The local availability of heavy rare earth elements is a unique advantage, and the project's potential is further enhanced by the presence of valuable rare earths minerals. With ongoing exploration and processing efforts, Lort River is poised to become a significant player in the rare earths market, offering a promising discovery story in the northwest of Esperance.
