PERTH (miningweekly.com) – ASX-listed Rift Valley Resources has reported a maiden Joint Ore Reserves Committee-compliant mineral resource of 44.7-million tonnes, grading 2.5% total rare earth oxides at its Longonjo Magnet metals project, in Angola.
Some 11.6-million tonnes of the resource was classified as oxide material, with the remaining 33.2-million tonnes classified as fresh material.
Rift Valley executive chairperson Stephen Dobson said on Tuesday that the announcement of a maiden resource was an important milestone in the development of the Longonjo project as a potential low-cost producer of magnet metal products neodymium and praseodymium oxide.
“These excellent results will drive the company’s strategy to a development path with all potential options considered that will increase shareholder value.”
Dobson noted that the company’s Australian and European shareholder base was well positioned to provide both corporate and financial support, as the company developed and exploited its magnet metals, copper and gold assets.
The mineral resource estimate will form the basis of an independent scoping study currently being undertaken at the project, with metallurgical testwork also under way on both oxide and fresh mineralisation to assess their potential for physical upgrading to produce a high-grade flotation concentrate.