Barkly Rare Earths Project Drilling Exceeds 1,000 Meters, 45 Holes Completed

en.Wedoany.com Reported - Barkly Rare Earths has provided an update on the Phase 1 resource extension drilling at the Barkly Rare Earths Project in the Northern Territory. To date, the company has completed 45 drill holes totaling more than 1,000 meters. This drilling campaign is part of a planned 10,000-meter resource extension program, with approximately 400 shallow holes scheduled at an average depth of around 25 meters. Initial laboratory assay results are expected to be received progressively over the coming weeks.

This drilling campaign targets the periphery and shallow extensions of the project's existing Inferred Mineral Resource. The Barkly Project currently hosts an Inferred Mineral Resource of approximately 40 million tonnes at an average grade of 2,100 ppm Total Rare Earth Oxides (TREO), containing approximately 82,000 tonnes of TREO, of which Magnetic Rare Earth Oxides (MREO) average 710 ppm, representing approximately 34% of TREO. The current resource is reported at a cut-off grade of 430 ppm neodymium-praseodymium oxide (NdPr) and includes the Vanadis and Benmara North deposits.

The existing 40-million-tonne resource was previously established based on only 46 shallow holes totaling approximately 755 meters of drilling. The company's current 10,000-meter program is primarily designed to test undrilled shallow mineralization extensions surrounding the existing resource and to expand the coverage of the resource model. The exploration target concurrently announced by the project ranges from 200 million to 1 billion tonnes at a TREO grade of 1,600–1,900 ppm. This range constitutes an exploration target and does not represent a Mineral Resource.

Barkly Rare Earths stated that drilling progress was initially slower than planned due to ground conditions and groundwater, but as groundwater at the site has gradually receded, rigs have been relocated to more favorable areas, and drilling efficiency has recently begun to improve. The next phase of drilling will move into Area 04, which is adjacent to the boundary of the existing Inferred Mineral Resource, where the target mineralization is shallow and in some areas interpreted to extend to surface. Samples are geologically logged at the rig site, with two portable XRF units used to assist geological interpretation, while final rare earth grades will be determined by laboratory analysis.

The first batch of drill samples was previously dispatched in July to ALS Geochemistry's laboratory in Brisbane for analysis. As drilling continues, the company plans to submit subsequent samples on an ongoing basis, with assay results expected to be received throughout the third and fourth quarters of 2026. Based on current drilling and laboratory progress, Barkly Rare Earths plans to update the project's Mineral Resource in the fourth quarter of 2026.

The Barkly Project is located approximately 350 kilometers northeast of Tennant Creek in the Northern Territory, Australia. The company holds a 100% interest in granted exploration licenses covering a total area of 5,030 square kilometers. The current resource only covers part of the project area. Rare earth mineralization at the project is primarily hosted in quartz sandstone formations. In addition to this resource extension drilling program, the company is also concurrently advancing rare earth beneficiation, extraction, and geometallurgical test work.

Under the Northern Territory Government's Geophysics and Drilling Collaborations program for 2026–2027, the Barkly Project has been selected for greenfields drilling funding, with additional support provided for metallurgical and mineral characterization test work. Previous metallurgical test work achieved a flotation concentrate grading 2.9% TREO and a magnetic rare earth oxide extraction rate of 74% through the leach process.