Barkly Rare Earths Intersects Mineralisation 6 to 8km From Earlier Intercepts
Key Takeaways
- Barkly has now hit significant rare earth intercepts in 56 of 60 reported Phase 1 holes, a rate above 90% across drillholes up to 23 km apart.
- Four northwest intercepts sit outside the Exploration Target and 6 to 8 km from earlier results, pushing the footprint beyond the existing 40 Mt @ 2,100 ppm TREO Inferred Resource.
- MREO makes up 29–38% of TREO in all 13 new intercepts, in line with the resource's 34%, alongside low uranium (1–3 ppm) and thorium (5–11 ppm).
- Drilling restarted on 5 October 2026 after downtime for replacement parts, with only 2,168 m of a 10,000 m programme drilled and a second rig out to tender.
- A Mineral Resource update is targeted for Q4 CY2026, subject to drilling and assay progress, with 26 more holes' samples heading to the lab.
First northwest holes deliver rare earths drilling results 6–8 km from earlier intercepts
Barkly Rare Earths (ASX:BAK) has reported assays from a further 16 Phase 1 holes, all drilled in September 2026. Of those, 13 returned significant rare earth intercepts, including five of the first eight northwest holes.
Four of the northwest intercepts sit outside the Exploration Target. The potential quantity and grade of the Exploration Target is conceptual in nature, there has been insufficient exploration to estimate a Mineral Resource, and it is uncertain if further exploration will result in the estimation of a Mineral Resource.
The headline number is 56 of 60 reported holes with significant intercepts, in drillholes up to 23 km apart. High-grade intervals (single 0.5 m assays of ≥2,500 ppm TREO) now appear in 36 holes.
What that tells you is that the mineralised footprint is stretching well beyond the existing Inferred Mineral Resource of 40 Mt @ 2,100 ppm TREO. TREO stands for Total Rare Earth Oxide, the combined grade of all the rare earth oxides in a sample.
Craig Wright, Managing Director
“We have now intersected rare earth mineralisation in the northwest, outside the Exploration Target and six to eight kilometres from previously reported mineralised intercepts… That is an intercept rate of over 90% across the 60 Phase 1 holes reported so far, in holes up to 23 km apart… we are tendering for a second rig so we can build out the resource faster.”
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Do the southern holes confirm the existing resource?
All eight southern holes returned significant intercepts, in and around the southwestern part of the Inferred Mineral Resource. Four lie within the outline of the resource and two sit on its margin. They include the four highest-grade new assays, with a top result of 4,550 ppm TREO.
The table below shows the highlighted new intercepts.
| Hole | Intercept | TREO (ppm) | MREO (ppm) | High-grade interval |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| BAK0032 | 1.5 m from 10.5 m | 2,171 | 820 | 4,550 ppm TREO over 0.5 m |
| BAK0295 | 2.5 m from 20.5 m | 1,774 | 614 | 2,599 ppm TREO over 0.5 m |
| BAK0021 | 2 m from 23 m | 1,718 | 592 | 4,355 ppm TREO over 0.5 m |
| BAK0033 | 1 m from 22 m | 2,336 | 821 | 2,999 ppm TREO over 0.5 m |
| BAK0284 | 5.5 m from 22 m | 1,035 | 343 | 1,721 ppm TREO over 0.5 m |
BAK0284 is a northwest hole and delivered the widest Phase 1 intercept to date.
All grades in the announcement, including earlier intercepts, were restated using four-decimal conversion factors. Before rounding, that lowers previously reported TREO grades by less than 0.2%.
Why do magnet rare earths and low radioactives matter?
MREO stands for Magnet Rare Earth Oxide, the combined neodymium, praseodymium, terbium and dysprosium oxides. The company says magnet rare earths are where most of the value in a rare earth deposit sits, so the MREO share of the TREO total matters as much as the headline grade.
Uranium and thorium matter too. The company describes their content as a key cost driver for processing flowsheets, so low levels are advantageous.
The company says four features now reinforce each other:
- Lateral extent: the rare earth horizon has been intersected across 23 km.
- Shallow and flat-lying: intersected between surface and 38 m downhole.
- Magnet rare earth content: MREO is 29–38% of TREO in all 13 new intercepts, consistent with the 34% MREO ratio of the existing Inferred Mineral Resource.
- Low radioactives: 1–3 ppm uranium and 5–11 ppm thorium in the new intercepts.
Some individual assays also show elevated heavy rare earths. These include yttrium up to 637 ppm Y2O3 (BAK0050), terbium up to 17 ppm Tb4O7 and dysprosium up to 82 ppm Dy2O3.
Terbium, dysprosium and yttrium are all subject to the Chinese export control measures introduced on 4 April 2025. The company will continue to investigate opportunities to selectively target additional heavy rare earths, though these are individual assay results only.
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What’s next for Phase 1 and the Mineral Resource update?
A total of 89 holes have been drilled for 2,168 m. Of these, 60 have been reported, and samples from a further 26 holes are at or being prepared for the laboratory, with results expected through Q4 CY2026.
Drilling recommenced on 5 October 2026 after an extended period of downtime awaiting replacement parts. To 15 October, 18 holes had been completed for 500 m, including redrills of five northwest holes. The company is tendering for a second drill rig and will update the expected timing of programme completion as drilling progresses.
The full Phase 1 programme is 10,000 m, with about 400 planned holes averaging about 25 m deep. The company has not given a completion date.
Exploration next steps include:
- Assay results from the Phase 1 programme (ongoing)
- Rare earths concentration and extraction testwork (ongoing)
- Mineral Resource update (Q4 CY2026, subject to drilling and laboratory assay progress)
- Geometallurgical testwork and modelling (Q4 CY2026)
- Buntine exploration results and follow-up exploration (Q4 CY2026)
For investors, the programme is designed to test whether the Inferred Mineral Resource can be materially expanded. Any larger resource would sit alongside the sighter test announced on 31 August 2026, in which 99% of MREO reported to the acid leach solution on a calculated-head, product-stream basis.
For readers wanting the full background to the programme, our full explainer on the 10,000 m Barkly drilling campaign covers how the Phase 1 drilling was designed and what it aims to deliver for resource growth.
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