Kendrick Resources (LON: KEN) has reported positive mineralogical and metallurgical findings from its Teufelskuppe Carbonatite Complex rare earth project in Namibia, including unusually low levels of radioactive elements that could simplify future processing and reduce development costs.
Independent laboratory analysis has confirmed that the project’s rare earth elements are predominantly hosted within bastnäsite and parisite, minerals commonly associated with major rare earth deposits around the world and which can be treated using established processing techniques.
Crucially, Kendrick said more than 95% of Teufelskuppe’s rare earth pool is contained within minerals considered amenable to established processing routes.
Bulk sample analysis found total rare earth mineral content ranging from 1.3% to 7.8%, averaging 3.8%, which the company said was consistent with the higher end of rare earth abundances identified during historical and recent exploration.
The mineralogical results follow the submission of three representative bulk samples to specialist laboratory Dorfner Anzaplan for early-stage metallurgical assessment and Mineral Liberation Analysis aimed at evaluating Light Rare Earth Oxide recovery.
Low uranium and thorium could provide development advantage
Kendrick also highlighted what it considers a potentially important advantage for Teufelskuppe: very low levels of uranium and thorium compared with many other hard-rock rare earth projects.
Certified SGS South Africa assays across 96 samples from the northern Teufelskuppe outcrops returned average concentrations of just 144 parts per million thorium and 3.6ppm uranium.
According to benchmarking presented by Kendrick, comparable rare earth projects in production or development contain thorium grades ranging from 240ppm to 2,900ppm, while uranium levels range between 30ppm and 360ppm.
This places Teufelskuppe’s uranium and thorium concentrations within what Kendrick describes as the lowest quartile of comparable hard-rock rare earth projects globally.
Radioactive elements can represent a significant challenge for rare earth developments because uranium and thorium may require additional processing, radiation protection and specialist waste-management systems.
Kendrick believes Teufelskuppe’s substantially lower concentrations could therefore support a simpler processing flowsheet and potentially lower capital and operating costs, while also reducing environmental and permitting complexity.
Chairman Colin Bird described high radioactivity as a potential “project stopper” for some rare earth developments because of the additional capital and operating expenditure required to manage radioactive material.
He said the latest results represented one of three major milestones for Teufelskuppe and provided a favourable foundation for development of the project’s processing flowsheet.
The results build on earlier work that identified the dominant rare earth-bearing minerals at Teufelskuppe as belonging to the rare earth fluorocarbonate group.
Kendrick said the combination of fluoromineral-hosted rare earth mineralisation, calcite carbonatite host rocks and exceptionally low uranium and thorium levels could provide Teufelskuppe with a comparatively straightforward route through future metallurgical, environmental and permitting work.
Attention will now turn to the ongoing Anzaplan metallurgical programme, which will help determine how effectively the rare earth minerals can be liberated and recovered and provide further information for the development of a potential commercial processing flowsheet.
