Cobra Resources PLC (LSE:COBR) has reported on a period of "exceptional advancement" in its final results for the year ending 31 December 2022.
The gold, rare earth and IOCG exploration company executed several exploration programs, including AC drilling, RC drilling, re-analysis of historical drillhole samples and geophysical surveys, which led to the definition of rare earth elements (REE) resources and gold mineralisation at the Clarke prospect.
The company raised a total of £2,279,500 through private placements to fast-track rare earth and gold resource growth through exploration activities and to provide sustaining capital. Additionally, Cobra was awarded additional exploration tenements considered highly prospective for gold and rare earth mineralisation, expanding its Gawler Craton landholding to 3,621 square kilometres.
At the year-end, Cobra had cash and cash equivalents of £1,272,742 (31 December 2021: £264,480).
Post year-end, the company published its maiden rare earth JORC Mineral Resource of 20.9mln tonnes (Mt) at 658 parts per million (ppm) Total Rare Earth Oxides (TREO), which it said provides a strategic baseline to advance an economically beneficial combination of gold and rare earth resources.
The company also completed 20 RC drillholes for 2,466 metres (m) across its Barns, White Tank and Clarke prospects aimed at gold resource expansion. Drilling intersected encouraging geology supportive of further gold and rare earth mineralisation across all three prospects, with initial results expected imminently.
Cobra also announced the fulfilment of Stage 3 expenditure obligations in April 2023 to increase ownership of the Wudinna Project to 75%. Furthermore, the company commenced a 6,000m AC drilling programme in March 2023 targeting rare earth resource expansion and other objectives. These developments reflect the company's commitment to expanding its resource base and enhancing shareholder value.
Commenting in the results statement, Greg Hancock, chairman of Cobra, said: "I am pleased to report on a year of exceptional advancement for Cobra, where we have not only expanded the extent of gold mineralisation outside of our existing gold resources, but defined a complementary opportunity in overlying rare earth mineralisation.
"The company is now in the enviable position to expand complementary gold and rare earth resources in a time where fiscal uncertainty is driving a rising gold market and the ethical sourcing of rare earths is critical to global decarbonisation through electrification.
"To have this opportunity in a single project benefitting from close spatial proximity of resources in an attractive mining jurisdiction is an advantage not many junior explorers can claim," he added.