(ASX:FNT)

Our rare earths exploration investment, Frontier Resources (ASX:FNT), has found promising results from a historic soil sampling campaign at its second rare earths project in the Gascoyne region.

In yesterday’s announcement, FNT also flagged that they will be on the hunt for lithium at this project as well.

From the soil sampling campaign, the highest recorded presence of Total Rare Earth Oxide (TREO) was 960.1ppm.

While not related to our three Key Objectives from our 2022 FNT Investment Memo, we’re pleased with the results from this project - as it indicates to us that FNT is building up a portfolio of promising rare earths exploration projects.

Importantly, the results come from a soil sampling program - which was followed up by a rock chip program in key target areas.

We think that given the fact that rare earths were detected at such an early stage, this bodes well for the rock chip sample assays which are due later this month.

There’s another aspect to FNT’s work at Mt Clere as well - and that’s its prospectivity for lithium.

As per yesterday’s announcement:

“Mt Clere is located along the northern margin of the Yarlarweelor Gneiss Belt, with major bodies of Proterozoic Durlacher Supersuite and Moorarie Supersuite granites also prospective for lithium bearing pegmatites. The review of publicly available data recorded fifty-one (51) pegmatites mapped across the Mt Clere Project area by the Geological Survey of Western Australia (GSWA). The surface extent and potential for these pegmatites to host lithium mineralisation will be a primary focus of initial work programs.”

Below is a map of pegmatite occurrences on FNT’s project (circled in blue):

What’s next for FNT? While we are yet to get word on when drilling will commence at their primary rare earths project in the Gascoyne region, we’re looking forward to the assays from their rock chip sampling program at Mt Clare, which are due later this month.

Here is why we invested in FNT and what we expect them to achieve in 2022 - FNT Investment Memo.

Our Catalyst Hunter rare earths investment, Frontier Resources (ASX:FNT), gave us a closer look at the targets that the company will be drilling in May.

We previously covered the EM surveys that FNT ran where it generated 12 high priority drill targets and the results from a recent rock chip sampling program which returned peak rare earth grades >8% in and around these high priority drill targets.

To read the deep dives into both of these check out our previous Catalyst Hunter coverage below:

• 15 Feb 2022 - EM targets identified - rare earths drilling event next quarter
• 21 March 2022 - FNT Rock Chip Samples are in - Peak Grade >8%

In today’s announcement, FNT detailed each proposed drillhole and the reasoning for its inclusion in the upcoming drilling program.

There are ~41 proposed drillholes across the Lyons prospects and ~22 across the Edmunds prospect.

Interestingly, FNT also confirmed that these priority drill targets were displaying more and more similarities to Hastings Technology Metals (capped at $558M) Yangibana rare earth deposit when compared using magnetic imagery.

FNT looks to have designed the drilling program to test all of the targets picked up via the EM surveys. FNT is following a similar strategy that Hastings used when it made the Yangibana discovery.

We detailed this similar approach in our previous article covering the EM targets here.

What’s next for FNT?

FNT have now confirmed that the programme of works for the RC drilling program has been approved and that heritage surveys were ongoing to allow for site works to commence.

In today’s announcement, FNT guided for drilling to commence at some point in May after the heritage survey approvals were granted.

Alongside this, FNT has also started some metallurgical test work to test whether or not the ironstones discovered on its project can be commercially processed. This is effectively FNT getting some of the work that would generally be done after drilling, earlier.

We have been looking forward to this upcoming drilling program ever since announcing our investment in FNT back in February, with the drilling program being key Objective #2 in our 2022 FNT Investment Memo.

To see all of the objectives we want to see FNT achieve in 2022, the reasons for our investment and the key risks to our Investment thesis, check out our 2022 Investment Memo here.

Our rare earths exploration investment, Frontier Resources (ASX:FNT), announced this week that they were granted an exploration licence in South Australia.

While not one of our Key Objectives in our FNT Investment Memo, we think FNT’s exploration licence in South Australia could benefit the company down the track.

The licence is located near to the Koppamurra Project which is owned by $78M capped Australian Rare Earths.

That project has an Inferred Mineral Resource of 39.9 Mt @ 725 ppm Total Rare Earth Oxide (TREO).

Below is a map showing how FNT’s new rare earths project (brown) is located relative to Australian Rare Earths’ projects (green):

We think this licence is similar in approach to FNT’s WA rare earths project - snap up tenements near existing deposits of rare earths in an emerging rare earths district.

But instead of ironstone hosted rare earths, FNT will be looking for closer to surface ionic clay hosted rare earths.

FNT flagged that they will look to use auger, push tube and aircore drilling.

What’s next for FNT: The big one for us as investors, the 65 hole, 5,000m drilling program at their WA rare earths project. The program is scheduled to begin later this month/early May.

This morning we saw our rare earths exploration investment FNT enter a trading halt pending some assay results.

In our latest FNT note, we mentioned that after uncovering 12 “priority 1” EM targets, the FNT team was on site conducting some “ground-truthing”. This is basically having the team on-site collecting rock chip samples in and around the target areas, looking at outcroppings, and pinpointing exactly where they intend to drill.

This forms part of the target generation works, whereby a junior explorer pinpoints high priority EM targets, checks if there are interesting outcroppings/high grade rock chips in that area so as to rank them from highest to lowest priority ahead of drilling .

For FNT to enter a trading halt ahead of announcing assays from these rock chips, we suspect the team must have picked up some interesting results.

FNT’s rock chip sampling is another step towards the maiden drilling program expected in the upcoming quarter.

Next week could make for an interesting one for FNT, with the results due. We also note that the share price of next door neighbour Dreadnought Resources moved from ~2.5c to a high of ~6.2c off the back of its rock chip sampling results (adding ~$91M to Dreadnoughts market cap).

One reason that we invested in FNT was to see it drill its rare earths project next door to Hasting's rare earths project, which is due to come into production in 2023.

To see all of the reasons why we invested and what we want to see FNT achieve in 2022, click here to see our 2022 Investment Memo.

Prime Minister Scott Morrison yesterday announced that the federal government has committed $243m in grant funding for the processing and refinement of critical minerals, as listed in Australia’s 2022 critical minerals strategy.

This is the first grant as part of the federal government's $1.3 billion Modern Manufacturing Initiative.

The $243m in grant funding will be split across four projects, including vanadium and rare earths.

Of the four projects that received funding, we were most interested in the $30M grant that Arafura Resources received for its rare earths (NdPr) project in the NT. Here the company plans to construct a “first of its kind” rare earth separation plant - only the second of such plant outside of China.

With the government stepping in and providing capital to develop a rare earths processing and refining industry in Australia, the future for local rare earths explorers and producers looks bright.

All of this affirms our macro thinking behind the latest addition to the Catalyst Hunter portfolio - Frontier Resources (ASX: FNT). FNT is preparing for a drilling program right next door to another Hastings technology metals “Yangibana project”, which is expected to come into production 2023 and has the highest grade resource of its peers in the rare earths space.

Interestingly, Hastings was also a recipient of a government loan of ~$140M which is being used to develop its project.

Click here to view our 2022 Investment Memo and see why we invested in FNT and what we want the company to achieve in the year ahead.

Today FNT’s field sampling program yielded what we think are good early signs that Rare Earths could be present on their tenements.

154 rock chip samples were taken and have been sent to the lab for assays.

FNT is getting the rocks classified into potential groupings of monazite, carbonatite and ironstone.

Ironstone is particularly interesting, as ironstones played a key role in the discovery that ~$500M market capped Hastings Technology Metals made at the next door Yangibana project.

The presence of carbonatite is also worth noting as Australia’s only Rare Earths producer, ~$10B market capped Lynas Corp, found their massive Mt Weld discovery in carbonatite.

For conext, the total grade of Rare Earths across Hasting’s project is ~1% and the nearby Dreadnought Resources re-rated in June-July 2021, in part, on the back of ironstone rock chip sample assays of 11.2% Total Rare Earth Oxide (“TREO”).

We think FNT is well placed in an emerging major Rare Earths district in WA, and we’re looking forward to what they come back with in terms of assays from the labs.

We wanted to see FNT advance their Rare Earth’s project by drilling (Key Objective #2) - and we now know that FNT is planning drilling for Q2 2022, which is just around the corner.

Here is why we invested in FNT and what we expect them to achieve in 2022 - FNT Investment Memo.