American Rare Earths confirms billion-tonne Halleck Creek upgrade and strong economics in March quarter
Published: 13:10 06 May 2025 AEST
American Rare Earths Ltd progressed its flagship Halleck Creek Project in Wyoming during the March quarter, delivering a significant JORC resource upgrade, a metallurgical processing breakthrough and confirmation of robust project economics in its updated scoping study.
The updated mineral resource estimate, released on February 4, increased the total resource by 12.2% to 2.63 billion tonnes at 3,292 parts per million (ppm) total rare earth oxides (TREO).
Notably, the Cowboy State Mine resource rose by 29.4% to 543 million tonnes at 3,438 ppm TREO, assuring Halleck Creek’s status as one of North America’s largest rare earth deposits.
Testwork boosts project feasibility
The company achieved a tenfold upgrade in TREO grade large-scale testwork in February using gravity spirals and magnetic separation.
This process successfully removed 93.5% of non-rare earth material, significantly reducing downstream processing volumes and operating costs.
The metallurgical success supports the flowsheet assumptions for the upcoming pre-feasibility study.
Billion-dollar upside
ARR’s updated scoping study incorporated the upgraded resource and testwork outcomes.
The 3 million tonnes per annum (Mtpa) base case yielded a net present value (NPV10%) of US$558 million and internal rate of return (IRR) of 24%, with a capital cost of US$456 million and a payback period of 2.7 years.
A 6 Mtpa scenario returned a NPV10% of US$1.17 billion and IRR of 28.4%.
The base case uses just 2.4% of the total resource over a 20-year mine life, leaving considerable scope for expansion.
A recently granted exploration licence enables test mining and bulk sampling at Cowboy State Mine.
This step is critical for sourcing feedstock for pilot-scale testwork and refining processing techniques at the company’s Wyoming facility.
Strengthened financial position
During the quarter, Cobalt Blue repaid A$2 million plus interest on a Promissory Note, with American Rare Earths receiving 335,882 COB shares under amended loan terms. The remaining A$1 million is due by 1 October 2025.
ARR ended the quarter with A$12.0 million in cash and an additional A$2.2 million in financial assets.
Exploration and development expenditure totalled A$1.52 million, while A$220,000 was raised from exercised options.
The company also maintained its 18.92% holding in Godolphin Resources via participation in a share placement.
ARR remains engaged with the US Export-Import Bank regarding a potential US$456 million finance facility and is actively pursuing strategic partnerships through BMO Capital Markets.
