AR3 - Australian Rare Earths

[System]

Australian Rare Earths Limited is a company focused on Ionic Clay hosted rare earths resource opportunities in South Australia and Victoria. The Company currently holds one granted exploration licence (EL) in South Australia and one granted EL in Victoria, and is the applicant for three further South Australian exploration licences.

The Company’s primary focus is our 100%-owned Koppamurra Project, a district scale ionic clay rare earth opportunity located in South Australia and Victoria containing a high value REE assemblage with low radioactivity. The Company has already had significant exploration success through the discovery of the Red Tail and Yellow Tail deposits, including the declaration of a maiden Mineral Resource the grade of which is comparable with those found in southern China, the major source of heavy rare earths.

The success of the Company’s first drilling campaign, incorporating aircore, auger and push-tube core techniques, was obtained from drilling of less than 5% of the Project area.

It is anticipated that AR3 will list on the ASX during June 2021.

Australian Rare Earths Limted - Mineral Exploration ASX: AR3

Australian Rare Earths Limited - our focus is on sustainably unlocking the materials critical to producing renewable energy and the components of energy efficient equipment

ar3.com.au

 

[Dona Ferentes]

Still open

Listing date	25 June 2021 #
Contact details	http://www.ar3.com.au/ Ph: 1300 646 100
Principal Activities	Rare earths exploration and development
GICS industry group	TBA
Issue Price	$0.30
Issue Type	Ordinary Fully Paid Shares
Security code	AR3
Capital to be Raised	$12,000,000
Expected offer close date	4 June 2021
Underwriter	Not underwritten. Taylor Collison Limited (Lead Manager)

 

[Dona Ferentes]

a week late for IPO, but that isn't a problem. Raising money at 30c, AR3 opened at 40c this morning and has lifted to 53c mid afternoon.

Australia’s only prospective ionic clay hosted REE deposit and one of two listed opportunities globally

• $12m IPO completed at $0.30 per share, enterprise value of ~$21m
• Key focus on immediately commencing key work activities at Koppamurra
• Recent 79 hole drilling program completed within and extensional to the existing resource – Assay results expected in Q3 2021
• Program focused on targeting replication of success at Koppamurra, through defining additional clay hosted rare earth mineralisation
• Potential to quickly increase resources and proceed to development studies on a low capex, high margin operation through drilling, assay, and metallurgical testwork

 

[Dona Ferentes]

a week late for IPO, but that isn't a problem. Raising money at 30c, AR3 opened at 40c this morning and has lifted to 53c mid afternoon.

and energetic buying in the afternoon took AR3 to 80c

 

[barney]

and energetic buying in the afternoon took AR3 to 80c

Pretty good start to their campaign for sure DF

Most R/E Stocks have been a bit brow beaten over the last 2 months, so the positive reaction to the AR3 story is a good sign.

I see VML also had an uptick today even though Lynas didn't. Hopefully the market is starting to re-engage with the R/E sector again

Definitely a Sector to watch/trade over the next couple of years.

 

[Dona Ferentes]

just looking at ionic clays... In some views, it is no accident that current production is limited to China and Myanmar. In addition, Ionic adsorption clays with heavy rare earths in concentrations from 50 to 1500 ppm have been reported in Canada, Brazil, Chile, Southwestern Africa, and Southeast Asia outside of China. And it seems IXR is onto something similar in Uganda.

The ionic adsorption clays are a process enabling geology. You must have:

• rare earth containing rocks on the high ground,
• Ionic adsorption clays formed on the low ground,
• Thousands of centuries of rain,

and, to extract:

• Ammonium salts,
• Plastic tarps, pipes, and tanks.
• Oxalic acid.
• Low cost labor.
• A forgiving or autocratic government

Ionic Absorption Clays and Heavy Rare Earth Investment Opportunities

Silly Stuff about Ionic “adsorption” Clays is being written and disseminated these days. An urban legend now has it that […]

investorintel.com

Whilst tongue in cheek, that gives a fair idea of what's needed. Source rocks with REs, a depositional environment, time and water .... and a method of extraction (ionic forms of heavy rare earth salts attached to the clays are rapidly dissolved into ammoniacal solution and since this solution has thousands of times the solubilizing power for heavy rare earth salts that pure water has, these heavy rare salts may be thereby “solubilized” and concentrated by precipitation with oxalic acid ).

I'm not a pedogenesis guy, but the AR3 presentation gives a fair indication of the surficial deposits, of lenticular clay beds interspersed with sandy layers, mineralised at the base where they sit on top of the local bedrock, Gambier limestone, and above the water table.
Analysis of the early resource show the layers to be at a depth between 2 and 9m. Sampling has been done with some 470 aircore, auger and pushtube drill holes across the whole region, by Mines Dept and now AR3.

So, what are we left with? This part of the world is relatively flat, with a stable geologic history. With 725ppm as a cutoff, the company has identified laterally extensive REE mineralisation within a (on average) 2 to 3 metre thick clay horizon across two prospect areas, Red Tail (10km x 3km) and Yellow Tail (3km x 1.9km).

The resource contains a relatively high proportion of heavy rare earths, particularly Dysprosium and Terbium, along with Neodymium and Praseodymium, all of which are used in rare earth permanent magnets.
The metallurgical testwork indicates TREO (excluding Ce) recoveries of between 50% and 70%, with with low radioactivity.

Any mining is slated to be Shallow free digging material with low strip ratio • Progressive rehabilitation. And that brings us to environmental issues.

AND Coonawarra is nearby. The best wine is from the terra rossa soils on top of the limestone: well-drained, reddish, clayey to silty clayey soil with neutral pH conditions.... The reddish color of terra rossa is the result of the preferential formation of hematite over goethite

Wrattonbully => fair game, Padthaway => ditto, but stay away from Coonawarra

 

[Dona Ferentes]

Investment company Acorn Capital snapped up a substantial 13.79% stake in AR3.

....in for a good time, or a long time?

 

[Dona Ferentes]

Sometimes being a slow old retail plodder at the end of the food chain has its benefits.

With AR3 showing resistance yesterday at 80c and settling a few cents lower, I put in a low ball (?) at 72c. Didn't expect it to fill, and took the dog out for a walk. I was sitting highest on the Buy side. Ping at 4.10 and (only) part order filled. Which is strange because the volume was high enough and ... I guess all those guns closer to the server were hungrier and wanted some more. Was sort of happy, and revised down the rump bid to 67c before open. And filled by lunchtime.

So, now average buy-in is at 69c close to where AR3 is trading now.

 

[waterbottle]

Why the reporting in PPM as opposed to %TREO?

 

[Dona Ferentes]

• 649sq.km. of additional key exploration tenure in South Australia has been granted, expanding the Company’s footprint at its flagship Koppamurra project by more than 40%
• Total granted exploration tenure at Koppamurra is 2,136 sq.km.
• An additional 1,911 sq.km. in South Australia remains under application, for a potential combined tenure position in excess of 4,000 sq.km.
• The area recently granted has already shown to be prospective for clay hosted rare earths, through AREL’s assessment of historic drilling

Next Steps

The Company is now planning a significant drilling program for Q4 2021, incorporating a combination of extensional drilling from the known Red Tail and Yellow Tail Inferred Resources and regional prospectivity confirmatory drilling to determine priority areas for future resource definition.

 

[Tropico]

It has found some upward momentum, the last few days, especially yesterday.
Looking like a strong open today, we will see if it continues.

 

[Tropico]

Still rising from the low. Highly speculative, higher risk on small volumes, hopefully high reward.
May gain some more interest having the "Rare Earths" label

 

[Dona Ferentes]

Why the reporting in PPM as opposed to %TREO?

I emailed the company with that question, but no reply to date.

 

[Dona Ferentes]

Someone thinks AR3 is a good Rare Earths play.... pushing as high as $1.20 this morning....


(HOLD)

 

[barney]

(HOLD)

Well done DF

I guess in the current market, any potential R/Earther with a market cap of $50M or less has room to move

Current resource of 40 Mt @ 725ppm TREO

Cash Balance The Company’s cash balance at the end of the Quarter was A$12,091,355.

Capital Structure Shares on issue: 110,680,000 fully paid ordinary shares.

Options on issue: Total of 12,597,200 unlisted options, comprising: • 6,000,000 exercisable at $0.30 and expiring 25 January 2025. • 6,597,200 exercisable at $0.45 and expiring 29 June 2024.


Lot of water to flow under the bridge before it turns into anything bankable so might pay to be nimble after such a big early rise. Sitting ok for the moment though.

 

[Dona Ferentes]

solid buying again..... above $1.30 by 11am

 

[barney]

solid buying again..... above $1.30 by 11am

Market certainly likes it at the moment. Hopefully the assay results reflect the enthusiasm DF?

Up 400% in 2 months

 

[Dona Ferentes]

Market certainly likes it at the moment.

Up 400% in 2 months

maybe the lead managers flogging the IPO at 30c didn't try very hard.

 

[Sean K]

Market certainly likes it at the moment. Hopefully the assay results reflect the enthusiasm DF?

Up 400% in 2 months

Pretty good considering they don't even have an MD/CEO yet. ?

 

[barney]

maybe the lead managers flogging the IPO at 30c didn't try very hard.

I deleted my original response. i am in no position to defend a law suit, lol