Heavy Rare Earths Limited (ASX:HRE) is gearing up for a 2,500m maiden drill program at its Prospect Hill Tin Project while broadening its mineral rights at Radium Hill to include yttrium and scandium. New findings reveal valuable rare earth minerals, potentially boosting the company’s critical minerals portfolio.
- 2,500m maiden drilling planned at Prospect Hill’s South Ridge prospect
- Radium Hill agreement expanded to cover all minerals including yttrium and scandium
- Discovery of Monazite and Xenotime minerals hosting high-value rare earth elements
- Drilling delayed by record rainfall, now targeting late May to early June start
- Exploration expenditure of $143,000 focused on South Australian tenements
Prospect Hill Drilling to Unlock Tin Potential
Heavy Rare Earths Limited (ASX:HRE) is advancing preparations for its maiden drilling campaign at the Prospect Hill Tin Project in South Australia, targeting a 2,500-metre program across 24 drillholes. The South Ridge prospect, part of the 75 km2 Prospect Hill tenements, has a rich history of high-grade tin intersections, including a notable 5m @ 3.22% Sn from previous drilling. The upcoming program aims to expand the mineralisation model and potentially define a maiden resource estimate.
The company has engaged a South Australian drilling contractor and submitted its Program for Environment Protection and Rehabilitation (PEPR) to regulators. A cultural heritage survey with the Dieri Aboriginal Corporation is scheduled for early May, ensuring compliance with native title obligations. Drilling was initially delayed by unprecedented rainfall in South Australia, which more than doubled average annual levels within two months, disrupting access and logistics. The campaign is now slated to commence between late May and early June. This follows recent updates on the project’s environmental approvals and heritage clearances, reflecting steady progress despite weather setbacks maiden drilling campaign.
Radium Hill Expands Critical Minerals Exposure
HRE has secured a positive amendment to its agreement with Havilah Resources Limited (ASX:HAV), extending its rights at the Radium Hill Project to encompass all minerals, including previously excluded yttrium and scandium. This adjustment broadens HRE’s exposure to a suite of critical and precious metals along an 8km mineral corridor known as the Bonython Critical Minerals Corridor (BCMC).
The inclusion of yttrium and scandium is significant given recent market dynamics, with yttrium oxide prices soaring more than 30-fold in European markets over 2025. HRE’s reconnaissance sampling has returned high-grade scandium and yttrium results, underscoring the corridor’s potential. The company is collaborating with Adelaide University and the Australian Research Council’s Centre for Critical Resources for the Future to study the mineralogical setting of rare earth elements, scandium, yttrium, and uranium at Radium Hill.
Preliminary mineralogical analyses have identified Monazite and Xenotime; two rare earth-bearing minerals with established commercial extraction pathways; associated with the well-documented davidite-rutile-ilmenite mineralisation. These findings could enhance the project’s critical minerals profile beyond uranium, historically the focus of Radium Hill mining.
These developments build on earlier announcements of rare earth discoveries at Radium Hill, reinforcing HRE’s strategic positioning in critical minerals exploration rare earth discoveries.
Billeroo Uranium Project and Financials
At the Billeroo Uranium Project, HRE has adjusted its earn-in rights, allowing Havilah to retain the Namba PaleoChannel ground while HRE focuses on the Billeroo PaleoChannel area, which it considers more prospective and proximal to established uranium resources.
Exploration expenditure during the quarter totalled $143,000, predominantly allocated to geological consulting and labour at the Radium Hill and Lake Namba-Billeroo tenements, reflecting a measured but focused investment in advancing these assets.
Bottom Line?
HRE’s upcoming drilling and expanded mineral rights position it to capitalise on rising critical mineral demand, but weather delays and early-stage findings warrant cautious monitoring.
Questions in the middle?
- Will the maiden drilling at Prospect Hill confirm a high-grade tin resource sufficient to underpin further development?
- How will the expanded mineral rights at Radium Hill translate into tangible resource delineation and commercial viability?
- What timelines and results can investors expect from the ongoing mineralogical studies and upcoming drilling campaigns?