12th Oct 2022 09:13
(Alliance News) - East Star Resources PLC on Wednesday said it looks to begin drilling at the Talairyk heavy rare earths project several months ahead of schedule, after receiving regulatory approvals earlier than anticipated.
The London-based, Kazakhstan-focused, gold, rare earths and copper explorer has been unable to start fieldwork at the Talairyk licence in the Kostanay region without approval from government authorities.
East Star said drilling would begin immediately. It will conduct 1,000 metres of reverse circulation drilling in order to confirm historical grades of the ionic adsorption clay hosted deposit.
Samples will then be sent for inductively coupled plasma, or ICP, analysis and leach test work to confirm historical grades and the potential for economic recovery of rare earth elements.
The drilling programme is designed and managed by independent consultants MSA-Minerals Consulting Ltd, in order to guarantee speed of execution and correct QA/QC procedures in case of future resource conversion.
East Star argued that the unexpectedly early approvals from authorities were a sign of regional support for new projects.
Chief Executive Officer Alex Walker added that the timing of the news could not have been better, as the focus turns to the future supply of metals "critical to the energy transition".
"With positive results we can hit the ground running next year, in the spring, to implement a more significant drill programme designed to convert the historical resource to JORC and test the huge strike potential of this deposit," he said.
East Star shares were trading 1.8% higher at 4.58 pence each in London on Wednesday morning.
By Holly Beveridge; [email protected]
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