Peak Resources (ASX: PEK) aims to develop into a medium sized mining house based on exploration and development.
The company holds an extensive portfolio with the main focus the Ngualla Rare Earth Project in southern Tanzania. Additionally, Peak holds a number of gold projects comprising a mix of brownfield, greenfield and advanced exploration prospects within Tanzania and Western Australia.
Peak Resources to move to 100% ownership of Ngualla Rare Earth Project
Peak Resources (ASX: PEK) has satisfied conditions to move to full control of the highly prospective Ngualla Rare Earth Project in southern Tanzania.
Conditions of the acquisition of Zari Exploration Ltd have now been met, and the parties will move to complete the acquisition on or before 18 February 2012 - where Peak will acquire 100% of the issued capital of Zari.
Zari is the registered holder of the Ngualla license and hold a 20% free carry interest to completion of feasibility.
The acquisition will result in Peak obtaining a 100% legal and beneficial interest in the licence covering the Ngualla project.
Peak Resources the new Lynas Corporation?
Peak has delivered a strong of very promising results from the project recently, which followed some encouraging preliminary metallurgical testwork.
Worth noting, the project has started to draw comparisons to Lynas Corporations' (ASX: LYC) Mt Weld, being rare earth enrichment in the deeply weathered regolith profile of a large carbonatite.
This week Peak announced some more broad intersections at the project, which will provide further support to the maiden JORC Resource for the the Southern Rare Earth and South West Alluvial Zones, which is on schedule to delivery to the market in the March quarter 2012 - to be completed by Hellman and Schofield.
Highlights from nine holes at the Southern Rare Earth Zone include:
- 49 metres at 5.08% REO from surface; and 95 metres at 5.06% REO from 52 metres (in one hole);
- 32 metres at 5.06% REO from surface;
- 34 metres at 5.03% REO from surface; and
- 120 metres at 3.52% REO from surface.
Across at the Northern Zone, peak results from five holes include:
- 56 metres at 0.48% Nb2O5, 137ppm Ta2O5 and 1.28% REO from surface; and
- 34 metres at 22.1% phosphate from 28 metres.
Adding some interest to a potential new area, a drill hole in the north east of the Southern Rare Earth Zone, 650 metres to the south of drilling in the Northern Zone, returned high grade niobium; 8 metres at 1.31% Nb2O5 and 179ppm Ta2O5 from 8 metres.
Assays are still pending in the area for an additional 14 holes of the reconnaissance program.
Metallurgical testwork
Non–optimised initial acid leach test work on a composite sample of weathered mineralisation leaches 88% of rare earths, with further leach test work now having been prioritised.
This work is to evaluate the possibility of a relatively simple processing route to produce a high grade rare earth concentrate for this higher grade, near surface portion of the Ngualla rare earth mineralisation.
At the time Peak said that simple wet table characterisation of primary fresh rock rare earth mineralisation produces positive beneficiation results in preliminary sighter tests.
The company remains well funded with $5.7 million cash in the bank at the end of 2011.
