Cummins Range

The Cummins Range Rare Earth Project is located 130km southwest of Halls Creek in the East Kimberley region of Western Australia. The Project is on the northern margin of the Great Sandy Desert and comprises one granted Exploration Licence with an area of 48.5km2.

The Cummins Range carbonatite was discovered in 1978 by CRA Exploration Pty Ltd (CRAE) who conducted mainly shallow geochemical drilling with limited deeper diamond drilling up to 1984.

In 2007 Navigator completed a reverse circulation (RC) drilling program in the central part of the Cummins Range diatreme leading to an independent JORC compliant Inferred Resource of 71,700 tonnes of rare earth oxides (REO) at a 1.0% REO cut-off grade, as well as uranium oxide and phosphate. Significant niobium and tantalum are also present.

Only a portion of the Cummins Range diatreme has so far been drilled to any depth, and as such there is exploration upside which could significantly increase resources at the Project.

Following the publication of an updated independent resource at Cummins Range and against a global backdrop of increasing rare earth metal importance to the global economy, Navigator sought to have the Project independently valued in late 2009.  As a result, Green Leader Equities Research, through a peer comparison process, independently valued the Project in the range A$10-20 million.

Two sectors of the rare earth market, magnets and phosphors, accounted for 70% of rare earth element use in 2008.  The most important category by volume and growth is the magnet sector which depends mainly on the rare earth metal neodymium with minor dysprosium and possibly praseodymium.

Rare earth metals are key components in many modern technologies such as TVs, DVDs, MP3 players, x-ray machines, MRI machines and missile guidance.  They are also a key part of the earth’s green future, used heavily in both hybrid cars and wind turbines.

Currently 95% of the world’s rare earth oxides are mined in China, and with that country's rapid development, it is consuming more of its own rare earth oxides and exporting less to the rest of the world.  The Chinese government has already indicated it may restrict the export of some rare earth metals.  It is therefore of growing importance that rare earth mines are developed outside of China. Australia will be one of the key countries in this trend, with a strong mining history and a number of rare earth deposits.  It is also the nearest potential major producing country to the big rare earth consuming markets of China and Japan.

To learn more about the rare earth metals market, click here.

TIM DOBSON, BAppSc, MAusIMM, GAICD
Chief Executive Officer

Tim Dobson has 23 years of continuous, broad‐based experience in a range of ASX‐listed and international mining companies. Tim’s early career was focused on process/technical roles at largescale gold operations including the original Boddington Gold Mine, the complex Porgera mine in PNG, and the Granny Smith mine north of Kalgoorlie. Four years with Placer Dome’s project development team followed, including roles in Canada and Chile, before moving into a lead management role commissioning the first nickel laterite operation in Australia ‐ Centaur Mining’s Cawse operation.

Tim then undertook an equally challenging management role at PNG’s giant Lihir Gold Mine before relocating back to Cawse as Operations Director where he oversaw the ownership change from USbased OMG to Russian‐based Norilsk Nickel. Tim joined Polymetals Group in November 2008 in the role of Chief Operating Officer / EGM‐Operations where he oversaw the implementation of the successful White Dam Gold mine in South Australia, and took part in the Company’s recent successful ASX listing.

Much of Tim’s career has focused on the management and technical challenges of operating complex mineral processing facilities in both PNG and Australia. With ten years management experience, Tim’s technical and project management abilities are supported by strong operational leadership, organisational development and strategic planning skills.

Tim holds a Bachelor of Applied Science (Extractive Metallurgy) degree from the WA School of Mines, is a member of the AusIMM, and is a graduate of the AICD company director program.



GEOFF COLLIS, MSc. MAusIMM, F Fin
General Manager - Exploration

Geoff has 26 years continuous experience as an exploration geologist working throughout Africa and Australia for a number of highly successful companies. Geoff has held senior exploration positions within Delta Gold, the Gutnick group of companies and Avoca Resources and his experience covers a range of commodities within a variety of different geological terrains. Geoff has been an integral member of small exploration teams responsible for the discovery of numerous gold deposits including Makaha (400koz) in Zimbabwe, Saxon Extended (120koz), Trident (1.2moz), Wills (20koz) and Musket (70koz) all within Western Australia. Other career highlights include the discovery of the Youanmi vanadium deposit in Western Australia and participation in the Hartley Platinum Project prefeasibility study which culminated in a major production joint venture with BHP.

Most recently Geoff was Exploration Manger of Avoca Resources Ltd from pre‐IPO through to the commencement of the recent corporate merger which resulted in the creation of Alacer Gold. Geoff holds an MSc in Exploration Geophysics from the University of Zimbabwe and a Graduate Diploma in Applied Finance and Investment from the Securities Institute. He is a member of the AusIMM, the Australian Society of Exploration Geophysicists and FINSIA.


Darren Crawte LL.B (Hons), ACA, CA, MAICD
Company Secretary

Darren is a qualified chartered accountant in both the UK and Australia and has worked within public practice for over 14 years, initially as an external auditor.  He is currently a Director of Audit and Corporate services at MGI Perth, a mid tier accounting and business advisory practice, where he specialises in providing corporate advisory, financial accounting/audit management, transactional support, taxation and other back office services to junior listed companies. Darren has acted as Company Secretary to a number of companies in the junior resources sector having managed  a number of these through an initial public offering.

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