Narryer Metals Ltd (ASX:NYM) executive chair Richard Bevan earlier this week shared updates from the company’s diverse project portfolio, including high-grade scandium and rare earth results from the Rocky Gully project in Western Australia.
The company said because drilling had revealed shallow mineralisation it now planned to conduct further drilling in a bid to extend these zones and explore the potential source of mineralisation.
Narryer has also made progress on its Muckanippie joint venture project in South Australia, where it has a 70% interest.
Results released by JV partner Petratherm (ASX:PTR) Ltd included heavy mineral sands with high-grade titanium oxide, sparking a strong market response. The partner's share price rose 140%, highlighting the project’s potential.
Bevan highlighted the company’s strong capital structure and diverse portfolio as reasons for investor interest, noting that its current valuation left room for significant upside.
The company said it would focus on cost-effective exploration while pursuing opportunities to add value over the next six months.
Bevan sat down with Proactive broadcaster Tylah Tully to discuss the above and more.
Highlights
- Background: Naraya Metals is a junior exploration company listed in 2022, with assets in Western Australia, South Australia, and Canada.
- Rocky Gully Project: Delivered high-grade scandium and rare earth results; plans for follow-up drilling to extend mineralisation zones.
- Joint venture (South Australia): Identified heavy mineral sands with high-grade titanium oxide; 70% ownership.
- Investment case: Undervalued compared to peers, solid capital structure, experienced management team, and near-term catalysts.
Tylah Tully (TT): Richard, welcome. Before we get into your latest news, can you give us a background on the company and run us through your key projects?
Richard Bevan (RB): Narryer Metals is a junior mineral exploration company. We listed back in 2022, with some early-stage exploration assets in Western Australia and South Australia and we have now built on that project portfolio.
We still have some projects in WA, including the Rocky Gully project, which we've just released some really exciting results from this morning.
We have a joint venture in South Australia on one of our original projects, and we also have some projects in Canada, including in the Northwest Territories and Ontario, which are early-stage lithium exploration projects.
Rocky Gully results
TT: Let's get into your Rocky Gully project. As you said, you've announced high-grade results from drilling at the project and the market has responded well. Can you run us through those results?
RB: It has been a great result. The Rocky Gully Project is a project that we had an original option on and then acquired probably 12 months ago. We did some initial drilling and had some interesting scandium and rare earth results.
We've just had a follow-up aircore program – 40 holes at the Ivar prospect. It has delivered some high-grade scandium and rare earths, very shallow.
So, mineralisation starts from surface and based on the limited drilling we've done so far, we think there’s significant scale and opportunity to establish a significant scandium-rare earth deposit.
TT: Where do you go from here at the project?
RB: We follow up with some further drilling. We've got some high-grade zones.
Scandium is an interesting mineral and the grades that we've got — grading up to 500 ppm — are really quite exceptional compared to average grade scandium deposits globally.
So, from here, we’ll target the high-grade areas and do more drilling to extend them.
The great thing about these types of projects is that because they start from the surface and the mineralisation is hosted in unconsolidated clay, exploration is pretty cost-effective.
So, we’ll be doing some of that. We've also got other geophysical targets that we’re targeting.
The premise for this project is that while we’ve found high-grade mineralisation so far, we haven’t identified the source.
We’ve got a broader model where we are targeting a carbonatite source, which is very similar to what other companies have discovered in Western Australia.
The exciting thing for us is having this foundation of high-grade rare earth and scandium mineralisation, but also the potential for a much larger system within the project area.
Significant JV results
TT: It definitely sounds like a very exciting project. Let's move onto your joint venture now. You released some positive results. What were the highlights and the significance of these results?
Richard Bevan: The joint venture is a project that we originally had part of and Petratherm (ASX:PTR) Ltd had another tenement. They started some work and have identified heavy mineral sands with high-grade titanium oxide.
They started on their side of the joint venture but the project has moved into our tenement now.
Petratherm has released some excellent results, so it’s shaping up as a high-grade heavy mineral sands project with positive attributes around the mineral assemblage.
Narryer owns one of those tenements with Petratherm, with a 70% interest, so, it gives us great exposure.
Petratherm released these results yesterday and the market responded very well — the share price was up 140%, adding another $35 million to its market cap.
The key with these projects is to build value in the assets. Petratherm has done a great job and we’re excited about how the project progresses over the next 12 to 18 months.
Investment case
TT: You've been busy on the news front. But before we end this interview, do you mind running us through your investment case and why you think investors should be attracted to Narryer Metals?
RB: I think there are a number of reasons. We have a broad portfolio of projects and a really good capital structure with 130 million shares on issue. At the moment, we’re not getting a lot of reflected value for these projects, so there’s a lot of leverage.
Other companies with similar scandium projects have valuations over $100 million. So, there’s plenty of leverage and upside here.
There’s also plenty going on in terms of activity. We’ve got an experienced management team and a good shareholder register, with some well-known mining investors. We’re out there doing work, and there are real opportunities to add value in the short term.
TT: We can't wait to see what you've got in store over the next six months. Thanks for joining us today, Richard.
RB: Thanks Tyler. Have a great day.
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