Barkly Rare Earths has reported continued exploration success at its Barkly rare earths project in the Northern Territory, with the latest phase-one drilling results extending the known mineralised zone a further eight kilometres. Significant rare earths intercepts have now been recorded in 56 of the 60 holes assayed, a strike rate of more than 93 per cent.
The intercepts span a massive 23 kilometres, confirming a laterally extensive and shallow deposit. Managing Director Craig Wright said the results had bolstered confidence in the project's scale. "It gives me real confidence in the scale of what we are drilling at Barkly, and we are tendering for a second rig so we can build out the resource faster," he said.
The highest-grade new assays all came from the project's southern reaches. The standout hole struck a 1.5-metre intercept grading 2,171 parts per million (ppm) total rare earth oxides (TREO) from a shallow 10.5 metres, including a 0.5-metre section assaying 4,550 ppm TREO. In the northwest, five of the first eight holes drilled eight kilometres from previous intercepts returned significant mineralisation, including the widest phase-one intercept to date: 5.5 metres at 1,035 ppm TREO.
The mineralisation remains consistently rich in high-value magnet rare earth oxides (MREO), which make up 29 to 38 per cent of the TREO in the new intercepts. These elements, including neodymium, praseodymium, terbium and dysprosium, are essential for manufacturing high-strength permanent magnets used in electric vehicles and wind turbines. The company also noted that uranium and thorium levels remain consistently low, a factor that could simplify processing and reduce costs.
The project's existing inferred mineral resource stands at 40 million tonnes grading 2,100 ppm TREO, while the company targets an exploration goal of between 200 million and one billion tonnes at a grade of between 1,600 and 1,900 ppm TREO. The current drilling campaign leaves almost 15 kilometres of virtually untouched ground between the project's northern and southern deposits.
The results come amid accelerating global investment in non-Chinese critical minerals supply chains. The Federal Government recently trumpeted the start of construction at Arafura Rare Earths' Nolans project, also in the Northern Territory, which has attracted $1.2 billion in government backing. Barkly is tendering for a second drill rig to speed up its campaign and expects to deliver a resource update in the fourth quarter of 2026.