Drilling to recommence at Northern Minerals’ Browns Range site near Halls Creek

Northern Minerals will restart exploration drilling at its Browns Range site near Halls Creek next month.

A six-week program will begin in early June at the company’s flagship project, where it has built a pilot plant to test several deposits containing dysprosium and other heavy rare earth materials.

Dysprosium is used in a range of modern technologies, including electric vehicles, wind turbines and electronic devices.

The program will explore new targets and follow up on positive results found during its initial exploration phase, which wound up at the end of 2020.

Findings will inform the Perth-based company’s feasibility study into a commercial-scale beneficiation plant at the Browns Range site, 160km south-east of Halls Creek.

Northern Minerals chief executive Mark Tory said the end of the wet season had prompted the remediation of access roads and preparation works for drilling to restart.

“We remain committed to unlocking a greater endowment of Mineral Resources at Browns Range through ongoing, targeted exploration campaigns,” he said.

“The results from the first phase campaign in 2020 provided a greater level of confidence in our geological modelling, which informs this significant campaign.”