PEAK ASSET: ARVO WRAP 18 March: ASX gains before US Fed decision; DroneShield, Electric Optic surge | Aluminium piles up in China as Iran war shrinks global supply | Resources Top 5: Lodestar, QMines drive small cap gains in rare earths and gold |

Resources Top 5: Lodestar, QMines drive small cap gains in rare earths and gold

• LSR confirms xenotime as dominant REE-bearing mineral at Virgin Mountain
• QML delivers bonanza gold and high-grade silver at Mount Mackenzie
• Ewoyaa closer to being Ghana’s first lithium mine with A11 raising US$16.4m
  
  

Lodestar Minerals (ASX:LSR)

Lodestar was a big mover among small cap ressies with shares surging almost 54% to 2c on volume of more than 242 million after revealing a potentially high-value heavy rare earths discovery in Arizona.

As the US chases alternative sources of the critical minerals made outside China, the confirmation by LSR of xenotime as the dominant rare earth-bearing mineral at the Virgin Mountain project could be a game changer.

The mineral is known to contain high proportions of dysprosium, terbium and lutetium, heavy rare earths critical to the permanent magnets that go into high temperature applications in military equipment and are also used in EV motors, wind turbines and nuclear reactors.

They’re the most controlled by China of the metals on the rare earths spectrum and the materials the Pentagon is most concerned about should its access be cut off by the Middle Kingdom.

Rock chip samples with confirmed xenotime have been taken from a mineralised shear zone within a 5km-long structure at Virgin Mountain hosted by a Paleoproterozoic gneiss.

The discovery that xenotime is the key rare earth mineral at the project is also positive for Lodestar’s future processing plans.

It is a known and understood source of hard rock hosted heavy rare earths, with a proven flowsheet for commercial production.

Next exploration steps will set the scene for eventual drilling and/or other ground disturbing activities at Virgin Mountain, starting with a compilation of geophysical data to be assessed before a field trip in April.

“Combined with the high grades and elevated HREE ratios returned from recent sampling, these mineralogical results reinforce that the Virgin Mountain REE Project is well positioned to advance as a heavy rare earth opportunity with strategic relevance to the United States’ domestic supply priorities,” executive director and head of exploration Coraline Blaud said.

“These results not only validate the exploration team’s success in identifying the high-value HREE system but also provide a strong endorsement to progress Virgin Mountain toward an advanced economic heavy rare earth asset.”

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Source: Stockhead