Arafura Resources (ASX: ARU) is an emerging rare earths producer. Arafura is currently developing its Nolans rare earths-phosphate-uranium project in Australia’s Northern Territory. The project is underpinned by a 30 million tonne resource that can sustain a 20-year mine life.
Arafura has expanded the scope of a Bankable Feasibility Study for the Nolans Project and extended the expected completion date of the Nolans Project Bankable Feasibility Study by nine to twelve months to simplify the Nolans Project flow sheet to focus predominately on production of rare earth products.
Arafura Resources drilling targets resource upgrade at Nolans Bore rare earths deposit
Arafura Resources (ASX: ARU) will undertake a major drilling program at its Nolans Bore rare earths resource to upgrade resources as part of the Nolans Bore Bankable Feasibility Study.
Arafura has executed an agreement with Drillwest, a Western Australian drilling contractor, to commence the campaign in the Northern Territory later this week.
The program is scheduled to be completed within six months using four drilling rigs and will be a key component of the overall Nolans work program for 2011.
Drilling will involve a team of around 40 personnel, and represents the single most comprehensive program to be commissioned by the company with 30,000 metres of reverse circulation (RC) drilling and 16,500 metres of core drilling.
Total JORC-compliant Mineral Resources of 30.3 million tonnes (Measured, Indicated and Inferred) have been outlined at Nolans Bore down to a depth of 150 metres below surface.
The purpose of the 2011 drilling program is to upgrade currently identified lower confidence Inferred Resources into higher confidence Indicated Resources as part of the Nolans Bankable Feasibility Study.
Higher confidence Mineral Resources can then be converted to JORC-compliant Ore Reserves by applying additional technical and economic parameters.
Also, the program aims to establish the potential for additional Mineral Resources down to a depth of 250 metres below surface across the full lateral extent of the deposit.
Nolans Bore is a world class resource but still has unknown upside expansion potential.
Dr Steve Ward, Arafura managing director and CEO said, "in our recent $90 million capital raising, we had identified a priority to test the extents of Nolans Bore as the foundation for longer term production expansion over and above our planned nameplate 20,000 tonnes of REO per annum from the Whyalla Rare Earths Complex."
"Arafura has already successfully developed the processing technology to exploit the Nolans Bore resource, so no further work of this kind would be required to increase production if the resource proves to be bigger and can sustain higher output." he added.
China is currently stockpiling rare earths for its own use and the overall global market is likely to remain very tight well into the future.
Nolans represents one of the very few rare earth projects sufficiently advanced to be able to come into production in the short- to medium-term.
On January 14 rare earth prices rose again based on the Nolans Rare Earths mix average, benefitting Arafura.
The latest price is US$75.23/kg based on current Metal Pages China FOB prices for rare earths oxides.
