Gabrielle Duykers, Naracoorte Community News
A junior exploration company is expanding its search for valuable mineral deposits on either side of the SA-Victorian border.
Resource Base has applied for 12 mineral exploration licences to search for rare earth elements near Naracoorte, Penola, Edenhope, and Goroke.
Rare earths are a group of 17 metals found in ionic clay which are essential to making magnets in high-tech products such as electric vehicles, mobile phones, wind turbines, and aircraft engines.
Labelled the Mitre Hill project, the tenements will extend across more than 2,600 square kilometres of land.
The company recently acquired an archive of historical exploration data in the area including drilling results, government studies, and private exploration data, before applying for the exploration licences.
If the Mitre Hill project uncovers a commercially viable deposit of rare earths it will need to undertake environmental assessment and extensive local engagement before continuing exploration.
Provided all 12 licences are granted, Resource Base has stated it would hold the second-largest prospective ionic clay hosted rare earth element deposit in Australia, following Australian Rare Earths.
Australian Rare Earths opened its warehouse in Naracoorte in December 2021, after discovering a deposit of rare earths in Koppamurra earlier in the year.
The deposit was the first ionic clay-hosted rare earth deposit found in Australia, having previously only been mined in China and Myanmar.
The proposed Mitre Hill project area is located on either side of Australian Rare Earths’ Red Tail and Yellow Tail deposits, which possess an estimated 39.9 million tonnes of the valuable minerals.
Mineral exploration involves shallow-excavation mining, using mounted drill rigs and compressed air to return drill samples into the ground. Drill holes are completed in a few hours before being backfilled.
In January 2022, two other minerals exploration licences were granted to Oro Plata Pty Ltd to search for ionic clay hosted rare earths to the north and south of Edenhope.
An additional 11,000 square kilometres of new ground in the West Wimmera Shire will be open for minerals exploration licence applications from May 2, 2022.
Before an exploration company can access privately-owned land and commence exploration activities it requires consent from the landholder.
Director of Earth Resources Regulation Anthony Hurst said private landowners were welcome to submit any queries or concerns regarding the mining project and “make their voices heard”.
“Earth Resources Regulation encourages locals to learn more about minerals exploration in their region and the licensing application process,” Mr Hurst said.
He said all submissions would be “carefully considered” when making decisions on licence applications.Land access information and consent tools to aid negotiations are available at earthresources.vic.gov.au/landaccess for Victorians or petroleum.sa.gov.au/licensing-and-land-access/land-access for South Australian residents.
This article appeared in the Naracoorte Community News.
