Lofdal heavy rare earth project resources increased by 650%

On 20 May, Namibia Key Metals announced that it has updated its NI 43-101 mineral resource estimate for the Lofdal Heavy Rare Earth Project in Northwest Namibia.

Total measured and indicated mineral resources tonnage increased by 1454% from 2.88 tons 0.32% TREO 44.76 million TREO 0.17%, the company said.Combine area 4(including Lofdal first measured resources) and area 2b based on the same 0.1% TREO as the end of the previous pea application on October 1, 2014.According to the 0.1% TREO truncation and the 0.17% TREO classification for the combined zones 4 and 2B, it is inferred that the total mineral resources increased by 164% to 8.67 million tons.

Treo content in the measurement and indication category increased six-fold to 76,950 tonnes, the company said.The measured and indicated categories of dysprosium oxide (4,060 tons) and terbium oxide (620 tons) have increased by 6.1-fold and 6.7-fold, respectively, compared with previous mineral resource estimates.

Darrin Campbell, president of the company, said: "We are very pleased to see a significant increase in the size and potential of the Lofdal project.Our first year with Jogmec has been a great success, driving Lofdal to become one of the most important heavy rare earth projects in the world."

"The main value drivers for the Lofdal deposit are dysprosium and terbium, which are key components in the production of high-strength permanent magnets used in electric vehicle engines and wind turbines.The permanent magnet industry is expected to be the fastest growing end use category of rare earths over the next decade, "continued Campbell.

Key Metals Namibia has a diverse portfolio of exploration and advanced stage projects in Namibia, focusing on developing sources of metals for batteries, electric vehicles and related industries.The two high-level phase projects in the portfolio are LOFDAL and EEMBE.The Lofdal deposit is being developed by a joint venture between Key Metals Corporation of Namibia and Japan Oil, Gas and Metals Corporation (JOGMEC).