Black Ridge Mining to launch itself into rare earths with interest in Mongolian project
Black Ridge Mining (ASX: BRD) has entered into an agreement to earn up to an 80% interest in a rare earths project in the Tuv Province, 80 kilometres east of Ulaanbaatar, the capital and largest city in Mongolia.
The company will now begin due diligence on the project and work to finalise a definitive agreement to jointly develop the project.
To earn its 80% interest, Black Ridge will be expected to spend around $5.5 million over the next three years and make a final payment of $750,000 to the vendors.
An introductory fee of 10 million Black Ridge shares will be issued. Black Ridge shares were last trading at around $0.005, valuing the share issue at around $50,000.
Samples assayed at the project in mid-2011 confirmed encouraging concentrations of lanthanum, scandium, yttrium, cerium and other elements.
Importantly, the project has also demonstrated potential for vanadium, tungsten, chrome and scandium, complementing Black Ridge’s Unaly Hill vanadium project in Western Australia, where the company has a maiden Inferred Resource of 86 million tonnes at 0.42% vanadium.
The Mongolian rare earths project is strategically positioned near to integral transport infrastructure.
Ulaanbaatar is Mongolia's road and rail transportation hub. Mongolian rail is connected to the Trans-Siberian Railway in neighbouring Russia and the Chinese railway system.
Shipments by rail through Russia to the international port of Vladivostock would enable rare earth ore to be exported to numerous international markets.
Manufacturing demand for rare earths and critical materials has risen sharply in the last 20 years, and diminishing exports from China, the world’s largest rare earth producer and supplier of more than 95% of the world’s rare earth supplies, have led to rising prices and supply concerns.
The company will now begin due diligence on the project and work to finalise a definitive agreement to jointly develop the project.
To earn its 80% interest, Black Ridge will be expected to spend around $5.5 million over the next three years and make a final payment of $750,000 to the vendors.
An introductory fee of 10 million Black Ridge shares will be issued. Black Ridge shares were last trading at around $0.005, valuing the share issue at around $50,000.
Samples assayed at the project in mid-2011 confirmed encouraging concentrations of lanthanum, scandium, yttrium, cerium and other elements.
Importantly, the project has also demonstrated potential for vanadium, tungsten, chrome and scandium, complementing Black Ridge’s Unaly Hill vanadium project in Western Australia, where the company has a maiden Inferred Resource of 86 million tonnes at 0.42% vanadium.
The Mongolian rare earths project is strategically positioned near to integral transport infrastructure.
Ulaanbaatar is Mongolia's road and rail transportation hub. Mongolian rail is connected to the Trans-Siberian Railway in neighbouring Russia and the Chinese railway system.
Shipments by rail through Russia to the international port of Vladivostock would enable rare earth ore to be exported to numerous international markets.
Manufacturing demand for rare earths and critical materials has risen sharply in the last 20 years, and diminishing exports from China, the world’s largest rare earth producer and supplier of more than 95% of the world’s rare earth supplies, have led to rising prices and supply concerns.
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