Critical Metals Corp. (Nasdaq: CRML), coming off its acquisition of a controlling stake in the Tanbreez rare earth project in Greenland, has kicked off diamond drilling program with a view of upgrading the resource and the potential mine throughput.
The Tanbreez deposit currently hosts 28.2 million tonnes of total rare earth oxides (TREO) contained in 4.7 billion tonnes of material, of which more than 25% are heavy rare earth elements (HREE), according to internal company estimates. This makes Tanbreez the largest known REE project in the world.
“The Tanbreez project offers immense potential for reducing western countries’ reliance on China for critical materials needed to support the transition to clean energy and defense applications, thereby bolstering national security,” Critical Metals CEO Tony Sage said in a news release.
Earlier this summer, the company acquired its 42% stake in the project from a company controlled by geologist Gregory Barnes, who is supervising the drilling program alongside two other rare earths experts.
The drilling program, part of its efforts to convert the resource into US SEC standards, will consist of 14 holes with a total cumulative length of up to 2,200 metres. The program will evaluate the resources contained in the mine and its projected lifespan, and is expected to last approximately 30 days.
“In my 22 years’ experience of drilling in Greenland, I have never seen a core sample quite like this. I am anxiously awaiting the assay results,” Barnes said in Wednesday’s news release.
Meanwhile, Critical Metals continues to progress its plans to undergo a SK-1300 assessment and move towards conducting a comprehensive feasibility study.
Following the drilling program, the company plans to conduct percussion drilling to delineate the mineralization in the selected areas, perform twin hole drilling on certain targets and effectively test the revised geophysical model to solidify its development strategy for the project.
According to Critical Metals, significant progress has already been made regarding the pre-operational activities for the asset. Tanbreez was awarded a key exploitation licence four years ago, and extensive studies have been completed.
In addition to the 14 drill holes for the program, 414 drill holes and more than 366,000 assays have already been conducted, providing a rich database on the deposit’s geology, geochemistry and rare earth element distribution, the company said.
Shares of Critical Metals rose 3.0% on the Nasdaq in early afternoon’s trading, sending its market capitalization to $677.4 million.
