Global demand growth for rare earth elements has been growing strongly, particularly as they are used in the manufacture of electric vehicle motors.
Similarly, demand for uranium has also been increasing as nuclear power is seen as an important part of the solution to a shortage of oil and gas energy.
One company which has a role to play in both these areas is Canadian-listed Appia Rare Earths & Uranium Corp. (CSE:API, OTCQB:APAAF) which has interest in the rare earth element and uranium sectors.
The company is currently focusing on delineating high-grade critical rare earth elements (REE) and uranium on the Alces Lake property in Saskatchewan, as well as prospecting for high-grade uranium in the prolific Athabasca Basin on its Loranger, North Wollaston, and Eastside properties.
READ: Appia kicks off 2022 drilling and exploration program at its Alces Lake rare earth property in Saskatchewan
Appia’s management, directors and consulting team have extensive experience with uranium exploration in the prolific Athabasca Basin district of northern Saskatchewan, and uranium and rare earth development and mining in the historic Elliot Lake mining camp.
Proactive sat down with Appia Energy CEO, Tom Drivas to find out more about the company.
Proactive: Appia recently said it believes the Alces Lake project has the potential to be a world-class source of high-grade critical rare earth bearing monazite. What is significant about this rare earth?
Tom Drivas: Alces Lake is one of the highest-grade critical rare earth projects in the world. Rare earths have been found on surface, up to 49% total rare earth oxides (TREO), with an estimated average of approximately 16.65 wt% (percentage to weight) TREO of which 3.85 wt% (or approximately 23%) are critical rare earth oxides (CREO) which are hosted 100% in monazite (namely Neodymium (Nd), Praseodymium (Pr), Terbium (Tb), and Dysprosium (Dy).
Neodymium and Praseodymium are of particular importance as they are used in the manufacture of electric vehicles, permanent magnets, cellular phone speakers and electric vehicle motors, to name a few. All these rare earths are contained solely in high-grade monazite (up to 85%) on or near-surface.
The technology to extract rare earths from monazite is well known and understood. Monazite contains approximately double the critical rare earths as compared to some other host rocks of rare earths and Alces Lake monazite also hosts high-grade Gallium (Ga).
The Saskatchewan Government and Saskatchewan Research Council (SRC) are building a plant in Saskatoon, Saskatchewan to process monazite to extract rare earths. This plant is the first of its kind in Canada. Appia’s Alces Lake project is in a position to benefit from this as it is in the same province.
The company is looking at its largest ever drilling program with over 12,000 metres of drilling planned for 2022. What are the main objectives?
At Alces Lake, Appia has found multiple high-grade critical rare earth targets at or near-surface over an area covering approximately 27 square kilometres. The Alces Lake Rare Earths grades as well as the critical rare earths contained compares well with current world rare earths producing mines.
Appia’s primary objective with this drilling is to establish the first resource on the property.
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Appia had a cash and working capital position of $11.8 million on February 23, 2022, with in-the-money warrants that could bring in additional funds to the treasury. What time period could this take the drilling programmes through?
Appia has just restarted drilling and plans to continue drilling for the rest of the year.
The company holds the surface rights to exploration for 105,026 hectares (259,525 acres) in Saskatchewan. Would it look to expand this area?
In 2021, Appia doubled the size of the landholdings at Alces Lake to 35,682 hectares as a result of the aerial geophysics obtained early in the year.
The company also owns four uranium properties in Northern Saskatchewan. These are the Loranger, North Wollaston, Eastside, and the Otherside (which Appia restaked and extended, totaling 27,291 hectares in 2021).
In addition to the Saskatchewan properties, Appia also owns a project in Elliot Lake, Ontario with a large NI 43-101 uranium and rare earth resource.
The company’s current land position may be expanded as additional exploration dictates.
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Appia’s management, directors and consulting team have extensive experience with uranium exploration in the region, what do you yourself think you bring to the company?
I founded Appia in 2007 and assembled a strong Board and management team with over 300 years of combined industry experience. I personally have over 40 years of business experience which includes thirty years in the mining exploration industry. I was instrumental in acquiring the Elliot Lake property and the Alces Lake property.
So, what should Appia shareholders expect in the near to medium term?
This is an exciting time for Appia shareholders, as the Alces Lake discovery has the potential to be one of the best high-grade critical rare earths and gallium deposits in the world.
Appia expects to release the remainder of the assay drilling results from last year’s Alces Lake exploration program. Appia recently restarted drilling and exploration at Alces Lake, so we are expecting assay and drilling results from the current program throughout the balance of the year and into next year.
We expect to release a technical evaluation (NI 43-101 report) on the Alces Lake property and plan to drill at least 12,000-plus metres in 2022 which again doubles the previous combined total drilling on Alces Lake.
Appia continues to target a fast-track development of the Alces Lake monazite discovery as the world demand growth for rare earths and finished product permanent magnets etc. cannot be met by current global sources.
We also expect results of the radiometric, magnetic and VTEM airborne geophysical surveys recently completed on the Loranger and North Wollaston properties. The world has a shortage of oil and gas energy and uranium is an important part of the solution. Appia has the potential to benefit from its extensive exposure in the uranium space.
Contact the author at jon.hopkins@proactiveinvestors.com