HRE Partners with ANSTO to Accelerate Radium Hill Development

Strategic Alliance Targets Underexplored Radium Hill

Heavy Rare Earths Limited (ASX:HRE) has taken a significant step to accelerate its Radium Hill Critical Minerals Project by partnering with the Australian Nuclear Science and Technology Organisation (ANSTO) Minerals group. This collaboration aims to leverage ANSTO’s decades of expertise in rare earth processing to better understand and unlock value from a mineral corridor that has seen little systematic assay work since the 1950s.

Radium Hill, located about 90km southwest of Broken Hill, sits adjacent to the historic Radium Hill uranium mine, Australia’s first uranium producer. While that mine yielded 1.9 million pounds of uranium oxide and a pilot-scale scandium oxide production in the mid-20th century, the rare earth elements (REEs) such as yttrium identified early on were never commercially extracted. HRE’s recent sampling along an 8km strike has revealed high-grade concentrations, including up to 3,597 ppm uranium, 959 ppm scandium oxide, and 2,236 ppm yttrium oxide, highlighting the site’s critical minerals potential.

Technical Focus on Mineralogy and Leaching

The collaboration will initially focus on detailed mineralogical studies and leaching tests of samples collected from known mineralised veins within the project’s Critical Minerals Corridor. HRE has already amassed over 100 kilograms of material for metallurgical testing, aiming to refine processing techniques suited to the diverse suite of critical minerals present.

Historically, ore from Radium Hill was processed via flotation and sulphuric acid leaching, achieving 90% uranium extraction, but the behaviour of rare earth elements and scandium under these conditions remains poorly documented. ANSTO’s involvement promises to fill these knowledge gaps and potentially develop innovative processing pathways, building on their extensive track record with Australian and global REE deposits.

Advancing Towards Drilling and Broader Collaboration

HRE is progressing regulatory and cultural approvals for its maiden drilling program at Radium Hill, having submitted a Radiation Management Plan and sought clearance from the Wilyakali Traditional Owners. This drilling campaign will be critical to validating the surface sampling results and advancing resource definition.

Beyond Radium Hill, HRE is considering extending its collaboration with ANSTO to the Subron clay-hosted heavy rare earth project near Esperance, which recently revealed high-grade heavy rare earth oxide zones within a substantial JORC resource. This potential expansion could broaden the technical support across HRE’s portfolio, enhancing development prospects for multiple assets.

Leadership Perspectives on Unlocking Value

CEO Jason Barnett emphasised the strategic importance of the partnership, describing ANSTO Minerals as a world leader whose expertise will be invaluable in translating historical data and recent findings into practical processing solutions. ANSTO’s General Manager Sateesha Tirumali Seetharam highlighted the collaboration’s role in strengthening Australia’s critical minerals supply chains and economic resilience through applied research.