Basin Energy has more than doubled the mineralised footprint of its Newmans rare earth discovery to 6.7km, with follow-up drilling also producing the strongest magnet rare earth interval reported so far. The early-stage results set up a busy fourth quarter of leach testing and further drilling, although no resource or recovery result has yet been established.
- Newmans mineralised footprint expands from 3.3km to 6.7km
- 13 of 18 follow-up holes returned mineralisation above 1,000 ppm TREO
- SBRC26014 delivered 3m at 1,147 ppm MREO within 5,253 ppm TREO
- Heavy rare earth mineralisation recurs across approximately 4.5km
- Q4 2026 leach testing and drilling are funded
Newmans Corridor More Than Doubles
Basin Energy Limited (ASX:BSN) has turned a 3.3km rare earth corridor into a 6.7km mineralised footprint at Newmans, after 13 of 18 follow-up reverse circulation holes returned shallow mineralisation above 1,000 ppm total rare earth oxide. Across all 26 holes drilled at the discovery so far, 17 have produced what Basin defines as significant intercepts.
The expansion runs between holes SBRC26009 in the south and SBRC26024 in the north, with drilling covering roughly 7km of strike. A northeast to southwest trend in the northern portion also remains open in both directions. The numbers are encouraging for an explorer, but they remain exploration results: the company has not reported a mineral resource, and true widths are not yet known.
Record Magnet Rare Earth Intercepts
The standout result came from SBRC26014, which returned 25 metres at 458 parts per million magnet rare earth oxide within 2,164 ppm TREO from four metres. Inside that interval was a 12-metre zone averaging 634 ppm MREO within 2,940 ppm TREO, including three metres at 1,147 ppm MREO within 5,253 ppm TREO from 16 metres. The interval included 1,042 ppm neodymium-praseodymium oxide and 106 ppm dysprosium-terbium oxide.
SBRC26016 produced the thickest MREO intercept reported at Newmans so far, with 27 metres at 364 ppm MREO within 1,698 ppm TREO from six metres. Basin says the magnet basket has remained broadly stable at about 21% of TREO as grades increase, with NdPr the dominant magnet rare earth component in results to date.
Heavy Rare Earth Pattern Repeats
The drilling has also added weight to the company’s interpretation of a vertically zoned weathering profile. Basin describes a comparatively depleted upper cap overlying broad magnet rare earth mineralisation, with locally stronger yttrium and heavy rare earth enrichment deeper in the weathered granite. Seven holes spread across approximately 4.5km returned three-metre composites above 500 ppm HREO.
Among the new results, SBRC26024 returned four metres at 940 ppm HREO from 12 metres, including two metres at 1,208 ppm HREO. SBRC26014 returned three metres at 893 ppm HREO from 16 metres. Those results are notable for the presence of dysprosium, terbium and yttrium, but the economic significance of the basket remains untested until mineralogical and leach work is completed.
Q4 Testing Will Put Grades to Work
Basin says it is funded for a fourth-quarter program covering detailed interpretation, initial mineralogical and leach testing, and further RC drilling aimed at strike extensions and step-outs. The proposed work is intended to test how the rare earths are held in the weathered profile and assess recovery characteristics, rather than simply add more impressive-looking intervals to the table.
Further drilling is subject to heritage clearances and is expected to include phosphate-associated heavy rare earth targets southwest of Newmans. Basin also plans to rank the undrilled Eight Mile and Three Ways targets across its 685-square-kilometre holding on the Sybella Batholith, using the preserved-weathering model developed at Newmans. The next meaningful hurdle is therefore not another kilometre of strike, but evidence that the mineralisation can be processed into a recoverable product.
Bottom Line?
The exploration footprint is expanding convincingly, but Q4 leach results will determine whether Newmans is more than a large and geologically consistent set of shallow assays.
Questions in the middle?
- Will mineralogical and leach testing show that the magnet and heavy rare earths are recoverable at commercially relevant rates?
- Can further drilling establish sufficient continuity and true widths to support a coherent resource target?
- Will the preserved-weathering model identify comparable mineralisation at Eight Mile, Three Ways and other Sybella Batholith targets?