Kendrick Resources (LON: KEN) has reported the discovery of high-grade rare earth element mineralisation hosted within breccia at the Teufelskuppe Carbonatite Complex, strengthening the company’s resource growth potential.
The newly identified breccia is estimated to comprise around 40% by volume of high-grade, light rare earth oxide-dominant carbonatite derived from adjacent mineralised carbonatite bodies.
Kendrick said the discovery could materially enhance the project’s resource growth profile by adding a significant volume of high-grade mineralised breccia close to surface.
Portable X-ray fluorescence results returned peak grades of 11.57%, 9.39% and 6.3% total rare earth oxides.
The breccia also returned an average pXRF grade of approximately 3.75% TREO over 14.42 metres of continuous mineralisation.
Kendrick said the average grade is comparable with the neighbouring massive carbonatite bodies at Teufelskuppe, highlighting both the strength of the mineralisation and its apparent geological source.
The company has now started an accelerated resource development programme to assess the breccia and evaluate practical methods for upgrading the material before downstream rare earth processing.
Metallurgical test work is examining physical separation techniques designed to recover the high-grade carbonatite component while rejecting the waste-dominated breccia matrix.
If successful, the process could improve feed grades and reduce the volume of material requiring downstream processing, with potential benefits for project economics.
The results of this work will guide the collection of a representative bulk sample for larger-scale pilot testing and process optimisation.
Preparation of an initial mineral resource estimate for the breccia has also begun, incorporating existing assay data and information from the ongoing drilling programme.
Kendrick said its objective is to define a substantial tonnage of high-grade breccia mineralisation that can contribute to the wider Teufelskuppe resource inventory.
Chairman Colin Bird said the discovery represented an important step in the development of the project.
He noted that Kendrick has already defined an estimated 14 million tonnes of above-surface carbonatite mineralisation and expects the newly identified breccia to add further resource potential.
The company is also using trenching, channel sampling and drilling to define mineralisation below surface at Teufelskuppe, while future work at the neighbouring Kieshöhe body is expected to contribute further to the broader rare earth resource base.
Kendrick said the aim is to build a substantial rare earth mineral resource and strengthen its position within the critical minerals supply chain.
