Aussie rare earths developer VHM Limited (ASX: VHM) has added new Inferred Mineral Resource of 192 million tonnes (Mt) to its inventory along with other positives from the Maiden Mineral Resource of its new Cannie Critical Mineral Project (Cannie).

VHM has also noted the ‘exceptional’ 3.1% Total Heavy Mineral (THM) grade of the new deposit which lifts the company’s resource inventory tonnage by 30% to 820 Mt and its Total Rare Earth Oxide (TREO) and Yttrium resource inventory by 43% (176,000 tonnes) to 589,000 tonnes.

Cannie increases the company’s zircon and titanium mineral inventory: zircon 5.1 Mt (adding 1.4 Mt), rutile 2.7 Mt (adding 0.9 Mt) and leucoxene 2.9 Mt (adding 1.4 Mt). The Company is continuing to advance further resource work and with additional drill hole assays expects to provide a further Cannie Project resource update in H2 2023.

“The Company’s rare earth inventory is now one of the largest in Australia,”  VHM Managing Director Graham Howard said.

Mr Howard believes this positions VHM to be able to support several project hubs that, once developed, feed critical minerals into supply chains to enable decarbonisation of global economies.

Along with VHM’s flagship 100% Goschen Project located 13.5 kilometres north and the emerging Nowie deposit further north, Cannie confirms a major new critical minerals province for Victoria stretching over 55 kilometres along the western flank of the Lake Boga Granite.

The grades of the rare earth minerals, zircon, rutile, and leucoxene within the Cannie Mineral

Resource are higher than most of those reported in the Goschen Project Mineral Resource.

Image: VHM Projects

Globally significant Goshen Project

Goshen has been described as a globally significant critical minerals project and hosts 413,107 tonnes of TREO inside a 820 Mt deposit (including new Cannie resources). 87% of Goschen’s rare earth minerals basket value is derived from high value rare earths that are critical for electric vehicle motors and wind turbines.

Moreover, the results from the recently refreshed Goschen Project Definitive Feasibility Study (DFS) confirm that VHM’s critical mineral deposits which are hosted in sand and extracted using conventional process technology, deliver minerals of exceptionally high purity with excellent recoveries at significantly lower cost to competitors in the market.

The DFS delivers a project with a $1.5 billion Net Present Value (NPV), an Earnings Before Interest Tax Depreciation Amortisation and Exploration Expenses (EBITDAX) of $290 million annually and an Internal Rate of Return (IRR) of 44%.

Watch a recent investor briefing with VHM Managing Director, Graham Howard, where he delved into the new Cannie findings and the potential of the Goschen Project. Click here to view.

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Reach Markets has been engaged by VHM Limited to assist with their investor communications and may receive fees for its services.