LKY join US critical minerals innovation hub

Our US critical minerals Investment Locksley Resources (ASX: LKY) just joined the Critical Minerals Innovation hub in the US, opening the door to future funding/collaboration opportunities in the US.

LKY’s Desert Antimony Mine Project, during WW1 and WW2, produced between 100 and 1000 tonnes of antimony (source).

At the time it was one of the highest grade known antimony occurrences in the US.

It also has rare earths targets on an adjacent block of land that sits within $16BN MP Materials' Mountain Pass Project.

(Source)

Today’s news relates to LKY’s downstream strategy - where the company is taking samples from the historic Desert Antimony Mine to show it can produce antimony end products.

A big part of LKY’s overall plan is to get the old mine back online and producing an end user suitable antimony product.

(which would make LKY one of the only producers/processers of antimony with a 100% US supply chain)

We covered LKY’s outlined mine restart plan in our last LKY note here: More on LKY’s historic antimony mine - can it be re-started? They also released a video with quite detailed early rendering of what it may look like:

Locksley Resources - Desert Antimony Processing Facility

The CMI is a consortium focused on developing secure localised supply chains of materials key to a clean energy economy.

Through this, LKY gains access to collaborate with top US national laboratories which include Department of Energy (DOE) funded R&D projects.

As a part of this group, LKY will be contributing mineralised samples and field expertise to major DOE research programs/R&D.

Initially the focus will be on advancing rare earth separation technologies and will also look at exploring novel antimony oxide applications.

The antimony oxide applications will be important for LKY’s overall restart plan at the Desert Antimony Mine.

What’s next for LKY?

Drilling (drilling preparation works began last quarter) 🔄

LKY expects to be drilling its project very soon. (Source)

First will be the rare earth targets to the south (that sit within MP Material’s ground package).

There, LKY will be testing areas where previous rock chip sampling returned grades as high as ~6.87% TREO (rare earths) - here is where those targets sit.

Then, straight after that round of drilling, LKY will be drilling the antimony targets to the north (where the old Desert Antimony Mine sits):

(Source)

We are especially looking forward to seeing if LKY can prove whether or not its Desert Antimony Mine extends over the entire 1.2km of strike mapped earlier in the year…

(Source)

Updates on LKY’s processing tech partnerships 🔄

Now LKY has signed partnership agreements with Rice University, Columbia University and Hazen Research.

With Rice the next stage for this partnership will be to secure a larger licence deal over whatever technology is developed from the R&D agreement.

This will take some time to work out the IP sharing and mutual development of the technology

LKY also recently signed a MOU to develop for processing of its antimony ore with Hazen research.

Hazen Research is a Colorado based R&D firm with 55+ years’ experience. They can provide global laboratory, pilot plant, and analytical services, specialising in developing processing and refining solutions for base and critical minerals.

LKY has now also signed an agreement with Columbia University.

This agreement is focused on the REE processing side.

Between the three partners, LKY is working on:

• Pilot plant design and metallurgical test work
• Production of representative samples for US industrial and defence qualification
• Commercial analysis and process optimisation