Kendrick Resources plc (LON: KEN) believes it may have identified a second major rare earth discovery within its Bonya Rare Earth District in Namibia, following encouraging results from the Kieshöhe prospect that suggest the project could rival or even exceed the scale of its flagship Teufelskuppe deposit.
The company’s latest assessment of seven previously untested historical drill holes has delivered an average Total Rare Earth Oxide (TREO) grade of 1.51%, with mineralisation dominated by high-value magnet rare earth elements including neodymium and praseodymium.
Among the standout results were intersections grading 5.46% TREO over one metre, 3.53% TREO over one metre and 2.73% TREO over 3.25 metres, reinforcing the project’s potential as a significant hard-rock rare earth development.
Perhaps most importantly, every drill hole ended in mineralised carbonatite or rare earth-bearing dykes, indicating the system remains open at depth and suggesting substantial exploration upside remains.
Management noted that while grades at Kieshöhe appear marginally lower than those reported at Teufelskuppe, the overall tonnage potential could be significantly larger due to the scale of the underlying intrusive system.
Chairman Colin Bird said the results have materially changed the company’s view of the Bonya district.
“Historically, Teufelskuppe was considered the dominant discovery within Bonya. However, our ongoing assessment of Kieshöhe increasingly indicates that this view may prove to be overly conservative,” he said.
“The discovery of widespread mineralisation, strong grades and, importantly, the fact that every borehole ended in mineralised carbonatite gives us growing confidence that Kieshöhe may represent a much larger rare earth system.”
Kieshöhe forms part of a large carbonatite complex and associated dyke network extending across a trend more than two kilometres wide. The scale of the mineralised system has led Kendrick to intensify exploration and drilling activities across both Kieshöhe and Teufelskuppe.
The company is targeting the definition of a combined rare earth resource of global significance, positioning Bonya as a potentially important future source of critical minerals required for electric vehicles, renewable energy technologies and advanced manufacturing.
Notably, Kendrick highlighted that its recently published internal valuation of approximately US$400 million assigned no value to Kieshöhe, as the drill results had not yet been received at the time the assessment was completed.
With average grades placing Kieshöhe in the upper quartile of comparable hard-rock rare earth projects globally and mineralisation remaining open in all directions, management believes the prospect could become a strategically important rare earth asset in its own right while significantly enhancing the value of the wider Bonya project.
