PNN secures priority project status for Brazil rare earths project

Our rare earths Investment Power Minerals (ASX: PNN | OTCQB: PEIMF) just received “priority project status” for its rare earths project in Brazil.

PNN’s agreement is with the Minas Gerais government - which is the state where PNN’s project sits:

(source)

This means that the project is now firmly in the eyes of the local government AND it gives PNN’s project:

1. A specialised state licensing pathway, instead of sitting in the standard regional queue
2. Technical environmental review run by the state's environment agency
3. State support with investment facilitation, supplier introductions and assessing what incentives could apply

(the agreement doesn't grant the environmental licences themselves, those will still need to go through the usual three stage process)

(source)

Minas Gerais translated word for word means "General Mines", a name it got during the gold rush back in the 18th century.

So this is one of the more well known and more importantly trusted mining friendly jurisdictions out there.

So we think that for these reasons that this agreement may actually carry a bit of weight (it should be pointed out that often these types of agreements fizzle out into not much).

(the agreement doesn't grant the environmental licences themselves, those will still need to go through the usual three stage process)

Meanwhile, drilling is continuing at the project.

Assays could drop any day now, with results due from deeper in the hole that ended in ultra high grades announced yesterday, plus from the other holes already drilled and at the lab.

Yesterday’s drilling result, higher grades also deeper?

Up until now, it appeared the highest grades were within the first 100m or so from surface:

(source)

But then PNN release a few more meters form a hole it had announced partial assays for, which ended in 5m at 4.32% TREO with 1.13% MREO from 181m, in a new zone:

(source)

Given these are partial assays remaining (and that PNN did report further partials yesterday, we could expect more to drop any day now:

(source)

We covered this assay result yesterday in a QuickTake here

What's next for PNN?

🔄 Maiden drill program at Morro do Ferro (MDF)

Here are the milestones we are tracking:

1. 🔄 More drilling (two rigs currently drilling through to December)
2. 🔄 Assay results
3. 🔲 Metallurgical test work drilling
4. 🔄 Gallium follow up results (new best hit with hole 3: 2m at 87.7ppm Ga from 83m), more gallium in the single 1.5m section sampled in hole 4 (same hole as today, from last week ).

🔲 Maiden JORC resource estimate at Morro do Ferro (MDF)

Expected before the end of the year - this is the big one for us.

🔲 Ionic clay potential tested at Morro do Ferro (MDF)

The "free shot" at the style of deposit that made PNN's neighbours worth a combined ~$1BN.