New Frontier Minerals shares sank on Friday after the first drilling programme at Harts Range in the Northern Territory failed to identify significant grades of rare earth elements, despite REEs being the project’s primary target.
There was a presence of tungsten, but this wasn’t enough to stop shares from cratering 40%.
The scout RC programme failed to intersect meaningful heavy rare-earth concentrations across the drilled holes. The company pointed to geochemical indicators it said were encouraging, noting low potassium-rubidium ratios and elevated yttrium levels in some samples as evidence that the pegmatites are “highly evolved” and theoretically favourable for HREE mineralisation.
But the grades themselves simply weren’t there.
However, the Bank Prospect returned 1,237 ppm tungsten oxide over four metres, including one metre at 4,860 ppm WO₃, while rock-chip sampling at the Cusp Prospect produced surface assays as high as 14,501 ppm WO₃. A consolation, maybe.
“Our recent drilling campaign at Harts Range, where 6 of 46 priority targets were tested, has confirmed the presence of tungsten,” said Chairman Gerrard Hall.
“This is a strategically significant finding given the tightening global supply of the metal and its critical role in defence and advanced manufacturing. With benchmark prices up more than 430% in the past 13 months, the tungsten adds a valuable new dimension to the project. In parallel and driven by the growing demand for copper and continued bullish investor sentiment for the metal, management will prioritise the advancement of the highly prospective Big One Project, New Frontier’s most advanced and near-term opportunity.”
NFM said it is now reviewing how to prioritise the remaining 40 targets to better understand the mineralised system.
The firm also provided an update on the Pomme rare-earth project in Québec. NFM plans to collect diamond core for metallurgical testing, including evaluation of flash joule heating technology with Metallium. Their earn-in requires a minimum spend of just A$200,000 over two years, keeping the capital commitment modest while the company assesses the deposit’s potential. Investors will hope this has more success than announced today.