REG - East Star Resources - New Rare Earths Licence Awarded

East Star ResourcesAnnouncement

08/08/2022 07:00

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RNS Number : 1713V  East Star Resources PLC  08 August 2022

THIS ANNOUNCEMENT CONTAINS INSIDE INFORMATION FOR THE PURPOSES OF ARTICLE 7 OF
REGULATION 2014/596/EU WHICH IS PART OF DOMESTIC UK LAW PURSUANT TO THE MARKET
ABUSE (AMENDMENT) (EU EXIT) REGULATIONS (SI 2019/310) ("UK MAR"). UPON THE
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CONSTITUTE A VIOLATION OF THE RELEVANT LAWS OF SUCH JURISDICTION.

 

8 August 2022

East Star Resources Plc

("East Star" or the "Company")

New Licence Awarded at Talairyk Rare Earths Project, Kazakhstan

East Star Resources Plc (LSE:EST), the Kazakhstan-focused gold, rare earths
and copper explorer, is pleased to announce the award of a new exploration
licence comprising 59 blocks ("Talairyk 1") at the Talairyk Heavy Rare Earth
Elements ("HREE") Project in the Kostanay region of Kazakhstan (the
"Project"), into which the Company is farming in for up to 90%.

Highlights:

·    Talairyk 1 covers 134.7 sq km and is contiguous with the 10 sq km
Talairyk Licence

·    Talairyk 1 is highly prospective for Ionic Adsorption Clay (IAC)
hosted heavy rare earth elements:

o  Geological mapping at 1:50,000 scale shows granites the same as those
generating the Talairyk HREE deposit (19,962 tonnes of contained Total Rare
Earth Oxides (TREO) averaging 786g/t up to 58.6m thick)

o  Historic grab samples within Talairyk 1 contain pathfinder elements

·    Talairyk 1 will be included in the farm-in agreement with Phoenix
Mining announced on 18 May 2022, with East Star expenditure on Talairyk 1 also
contributing towards the agreed earn-in milestones

 

Alex Walker, East Star CEO, commented:

"Rare earth elements are classed by the UK as representing the highest global
supply risk and the third highest UK economic vulnerability. We are therefore
very pleased to extend our HREE footprint in the region by over tenfold and
secure access to additional prospective ground for IAC hosted minerals - the
same geology as the rare earths of South China on which the world currently
substantially depends.

We will immediately begin the application process to commence field work so
the exploration programme can align with that of the Talairyk deposit, where
we aim to be drilling in H1 next year.

The size of the Talairyk deposit is already significant and could provide the
scale required for feasibility work, however, considering the demand growth
and lack of security of supply for rare earth elements, coupled with the
location providing direct rail access to Europe via the Caspian Sea, growing
the resource could make this deposit globally strategic."

 

Figure 1 light pink granites map on a 1:50,000 scale provide the best
indicator for a potential continuation of the Talairyk orebody

Ionic Adsorption Clays (IACs)

Potentially economically extractible IACs are rarely found outside of South
China with only a few in South East Asia in production today and
exploration/development projects in Australia, Brazil, Chile and Uganda. IAC
deposits are comparatively rich in HREEs and are a primary source of China's
and therefore the world's HREE production. IAC deposits offer several
advantages to the more commonly occurring hard rock REE deposits where the
rare earths are mostly hosted in complex mineral associations. These
advantages include:

o  Lower CAPEX: Deposits are shallow and free dig clays, keeping the
footprint small, the pre-strip ratio low and with simple, conventional
machinery and material handling methods. Processing generally requires no
grinding or milling, removing these costly and energy intensive mills from the
processing circuit

o  Lower OPEX: Generally, the deposits are amenable to standard leaching
techniques with weak electrolyte solutions, such as ammonium sulphate (widely
used as a fertilizer for alkaline soils) and sodium or magnesium chloride

o  Negligible radioactivity: Radioactive elements such as uranium and thorium
occur commonly in hard rock REE projects. In IACs, the radioactive elements
have been mostly removed by the weathering process along with the lower value
light rare earth elements

o  High-value basket of product: The heavy rare earth element market is small
and commercial production is restricted to very few companies while the demand
in the high-tech industry has expanded

HREE Supply, Demand and the UK Critical Minerals Strategy

Rare Earth Elements (REEs) are required for several high-tech devices like
high performance magnets for wind turbines or lighting products for instance
energy saving bulbs. Especially, the more valuable Heavy Rare Earth Elements
(HREEs) like Dysprosium and Terbium are a critical resource.

 

On 22 July 2022, the UK Government published its first ever critical minerals
strategy that aims to improve the security of supply of critical minerals with
the intention to improve the resilience of critical minerals supply chains.
Key points from the report, important to East Star Resources, include:

 

1. Collaborate with international partners:

a. Diversify supply across the world so it becomes more resilient as demand
grows

b. Support UK companies to participate overseas in diversified responsible and
transparent supply chains

c. Develop diplomatic, trading and development relationships around the world
to improve the resilience of supply to the UK

 

2. Enhance international markets:

a. Boost global environmental, social and governance performance (ESG),
reducing vulnerability to disruption and levelling the playing field for
responsible businesses

b. Develop well-functioning and transparent markets, through improved data and
traceability

c. Champion London as the world's capital of responsible finance for critical
minerals

 

Historical Exploration

 

East Star Resources continues to collect additional data on the awarded
licences and the region generally and will keep the market updated with
further progress ahead of drilling which is targeted for H1 2023.

 

For further information visit the Company's website at www.eaststarplc.com
(http://www.eaststarplc.com) , or contact:

 

East Star Resources Plc

Alex Walker, Chief Executive Officer

Tel: +44 (0)20 7390 0234 (via Vigo Consulting)

 

Peterhouse Capital Limited (Corporate Broker and Placing Agent)

Duncan Vasey / Lucy Williams

Tel: +44 (0) 20 7469 0930

 

Vigo Consulting (Investor Relations)

Ben Simons / Tara Benniman

Tel: +44 (0)20 7390 0234

 

About East Star Resources Plc

East Star Resources is focused on the discovery and development of gold, rare
earth, and copper deposits in Kazakhstan. With an initial five licences
covering 1,442 km2 in three mineral rich districts, East Star is undertaking
an intensive exploration programme, applying modern geophysics to discover
minerals in levels that were not previously explored. The Company also intends
to further expand its licence portfolio in Kazakhstan. East Star's management
are based permanently on the ground, supported by local expertise, and joint
ventures with the state mining company.

Follow us on social media:

LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/company/east-star-resources/
(https://www.linkedin.com/company/east-star-resources/)

Twitter: https://twitter.com/EastStar_PLC (https://twitter.com/EastStar_PLC)

The person who arranged for the release of this announcement was Alex Walker,
CEO of the Company.

Competent Persons Statement

Information and data presented within this announcement has been compiled by
Mr Azamat Bizhanov, a Member of the Australian Institute of Geoscientists
("MAIG"). Mr Bizhanov is the Exploration Manager for East Star Resources Plc
and has sufficient experience, which is relevant to the style of
mineralisation, deposit type and to the activity which he is undertaking to
qualify as a Competent Person defined by the 2012 Edition of the Australasian
Code for Reporting Exploration Results, Mineral Resources and Ore Reserves
(the "JORC" Code). This includes 10 years of Mining, Resource Estimation and
Exploration relevant to the style of mineralisation.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

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