DeSoto to earn in up to 70% of Copperoz’ Spectrum REE project with a minimum $5m spend
Spectrum has historical TREO grades of up to 6.55%
Option to acquire the whole project with a positive feasibility study
Spectrum is in the NT’s growing critical minerals district
Special Report: DeSoto Resources bagged in early trade Wednesday after inking an agreement to earn-in to the highly prospective Spectrum rare earths (REE) project in the Pine Creek minerals district in the NT.
REE exploration is gaining traction in the NT, spearheaded by the development of Arafura Rare Earths’ (ASX:ARU) massive $1.68bn Nolans project.
Nolans is pegged to produce 4,400tpa NdPr oxide, 474tpa heavy rare earths oxide and 144,393tpa of phosphoric acid for a minimum 38 years.
The project is looking increasingly likely to become Australia’s first combined REE mine and refinery, having now secured 68% of the targeted US$775 million senior debt funding with Canadian Export Bank recently tipping in US$300m.
The Australian Government is also chipping in, committing up to $840 million to support the development of Nolans, while the NT Government, through it’s Resourcing the Territory initiative, provides funding to explorers such as DeSoto Resources (ASX:DES) in the critical minerals space.
Acquiring Spectrum
DeSoto has signed a binding term sheet to acquire 70% of Copperoz’ Spectrum REE project via a two stage minimum exploration spend of $5m over the next 39 months, with a right to acquire up to 100% of the project.
During the first 15 months, DeSoto agrees to spend a minimum of $2m, including a minimum 3500m worth of RC/DD drilling, while Stage 2 requires a minimum $3m expenditure during the following 24 months.
Upon completion of a positive feasibility study, DeSoto has an option to buy out the remaining 30%.
REE prospectivity
Historic uranium-focused drilling at Spetrum was completed before REEs were recognised as a valuable critical minerals opportunity and intercepted high-grades within a potential 4.5km strike along the Fenton Shear Zone (FSZ) corridor – with mineralisation open to the north and south.
Wide zones of high-grade total rare earth oxides (TREO) were identified over a 350m strike, including NdPr, with best results showing:
50m @ 1.55% TREO from 245m, including 6m @ 6.55% TREO from 248m
21.9m @ 2.55% TREO from 276m, including 9.2m @ 3.78% TREO from 288m
17m @ 1.0% TREO from 254m, including 1m @ 6.42% TREO from 254m
Previously completed testwork has suggested >19% TREO concentrate could be produced and that the sulphide minerals could potentially be treated to liberate gold and silver in a separate process.
The Spectrum project within DeSoto’s Fenton project. Pic supplied: (DES)
Exploration at Fenton
DeSoto’s Fenton gold project contains a 55km-long strike of the FSZ, similar in strike and parallel to the prolific Pine Creek Shear Zone (PCSZ) which contains ~17Moz of recorded gold deposits.
The FSZ however, is vastly underexplored, so DeSoto recently drilled four diamond holes that all intersected gold and conducted an NT government-supported airborne electromagnetic (AEM) survey that cropped up 18 priority bedrock conductivity anomalies.
Next steps
DeSoto is planning ground gravity and fixed loop electromagnetic surveys over the Quantum and Vesper targets at Spectrum to assist in drill planning as part of its 3500m RC/DD drilling earn-in commitment.
It’s also going to develop working geological and mineralisation models for antiformal hinge zone style REE-gold-silver and base metal/uranium skarn style deposits.
This article was developed in collaboration with DeSoto 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.
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