VR Resources Ltd (TSX-V:VRR, OTCQB:VRRCF) has revealed that it hit the broadest and strongest intersection to date of high-grade rare earth elements (REE's) and critical metals in Hole 13 from its 4,617-hectare Hecla-Kilmer (H-K) property in northern Ontario.
The Vancouver-based junior exploration company focused on copper, gold and critical metals, emphasized the economic potential of the discovery noting that there is “continuous mineralization in potassic alteration over the entire 287-metre vertical hole.”
VR said the strike length potential exceeds 1,000 metres (m) along the east-west structure which controls mineralization. The drill hole is 23 kilometres (km) northwest of the Ontario Northern Railroad, highway 634, and provincial grid power at the Otter Rapids hydroelectricity facility.
VR Resources highlighted that it intersected:
- 243m at 1.01% of total rare earth oxide (TREO), of which 19% are PMREO, within 290m at 0.91% TREO starting at surface and continuous from top-to-bottom in Hole HK22-013, and including
- 65m at 1.66% TREO, starting at 155m and including 39m at 2.01% TREO starting at 155m, and 15m at 2.14% TREO starting at 311m
- The 65m interval of 1.66% TREO is made up of 24% PMREO
- The 15m interval with 2.14% TREO contains 15.71% P2O5
In a nutshell, PMREO stands for the sum of the high-value rare earth oxides Pr2O3 + Nd203 + Tb2O3 + Dy2O3 used in permanent magnets for wind turbines and electric vehicles. PMREO percent is equal to the PMREO sum divided by total rare earth oxide and expressed as a percentage.
In a statement, VR Resources CEO Michael Gunning said: “This new intersection from top-to-bottom in Hole 13 confirms the economic potential of the REE and critical metal discovery made by VR within the polymetallic, hydrothermal vein and breccia system at Hecla-Kilmer in 2020.”
“What are the value metrics for a 291m intersection of rare earth elements. Firstly, the ratio of up to 24% PMREO at Hecla-Kilmer is high. That is important. The light and heavy REE’s Neodymium, Dysprosium, Terbium and Praseodymium are the most valuable because they are essential in the manufacturing of permanent magnets necessary for the electric vehicle and wind energy turbine industries," he added.
Gunning also noted that demand-based value is amplified by scarcity since PMREO’s are absent in most REE deposits globally.
“Based solely on the presence of these four heavy rare earth elements, the 290m REE intersection in Hole 13 at Hecla-Kilmer has a value of $172/kg using exchange and index prices of today, which on face value is comparable to 9.2% copper,” noted the CEO.
Meanwhile, the VR boss also drew attention to drill holes 5 and 8 located to the west in the core of the gravity anomaly.
“The niobium price has risen four-fold in the past decade, to the $45/kg level, reflecting in part a demand related to its role as a super-conductor to improve the performance of permanent magnets essential to the EV and wind turbine sectors,” Gunning said.
VR said the intersection in Hole 13 is in the “same geological ballpark" as most world-class REE mineral systems. “The 0.91–2.14% range in TREO content in the various intervals within the 290m intersection in Hole 13 is comparable to the range of 0.4–1.73% TREO reported for the average resource grades of eight of the top 10 REE deposits globally,” noted Gunning.
VR has now confirmed REE and critical metal intersections in 8 of the 12 drill holes for which data has been received.
Contact the author Uttara Choudhury at uttara@proactiveinvestors.com
Follow her on Twitter: @UttaraProactive