Australian Rare Earths Limited (ASX: AR3) today announced the discovery of a new niobium-rare earths carbonatite system at its 100%-owned Overland Project in South Australia, a development that expands the company’s critical minerals exposure. Australian Rare Earths (AR3) is a diversified critical minerals company focused on uranium and rare earth elements, notably advancing its flagship Koppamurra Rare Earths Project. The unexpected find builds upon AR3’s existing Koppamurra REE development and Overland uranium targets.
Drilling at Overland identified a carbonatite-style mineral system, globally recognised as a significant source of both rare earth elements (REEs) and niobium. Drill hole OV167 intersected a 19-metre interval of anomalous rare earth and niobium mineralisation from 86 metres to end of hole. Key results from OV167 included 19m @ 0.61% Total Rare Earth Oxides (TREO), featuring 20% Neodymium+Praseodymium oxides (NdPr) and 1.7% Dysprosium+Terbium oxides (DyTb). Within this, a 7-metre section from 86 metres yielded 0.56% TREO with 0.27% Nb2O5, including 1m @ 1.0% TREO with 0.53% Nb2O5 from 87 metres. Petrographic assessment confirmed the presence of pyrochlore, the principal niobium ore mineral.
The mineralised interval remains open at depth, with OV167 ending in anomalous basement-hosted mineralisation. This early-stage discovery is associated with a large, coherent magnetic anomaly, with the company interpreting OV167 to potentially reflect a sill or dyke-like expression of a larger, untested carbonatite intrusive system nearby. Australian Rare Earths plans follow-up work, including expanded geophysical modelling and targeted drilling, to further delineate the system’s extent. Managing Director Travis Beinke highlighted the significance of the find as a new critical minerals opportunity while reaffirming the company’s priority remains on progressing the Koppamurra project. The company noted that these early-stage results are from a single drill hole and further exploration is required to define a Mineral Resource.
