The Jongju REE Target
Status Summary
Reference is made to several reports on the Jongju REE target:
- “Independent Field investigation and Competent Persons Report: Ryongpo Alkaline Complex, North Pyongan Province, Democratic People’s Republic of Korea”, Report 1, 11 November 2011;
- “Preliminary Geochemistry of the Ryongpo Alkaline Complex, North Pyongan Province, Democratic People’s Republic of Korea”, Report 2, 23 December 2012;
- “Independent Geologist Report: Jongju REE Target, Ryongpo Alkaline Complex, North Pyongan Province, Democratic People’s Republic of Korea”, Report 3, 3 August 2012;
- “Independent Geologist Report: Preliminary Geochemistry of additional samples from Jongju REE Targets, Democratic People’s Republic of Korea”, Report 4, 30 August 2012;
- “Independent Geologist Report: Special Summary Report on the Jongju REE Target, Democratic People’s Republic of Korea”, Report 5, 15 November 2012;
- “Current Status of REE Projects in collaboration with the Korea Natural Resources Trading Corporation of the Democratic People’s Republic of Korea”, Report 6, 10 December 2012.
Table 1: Summary of the Jongju REE potential
| Deposit Area |
Strike length (m) |
Apparent thickness (m) |
Down-dip extent (m) |
Average REO grade (wt. %) |
Mineralisation estimate (t) (SG = 2.6) |
Estimated TREO mineralisation (t) |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Ore body 1 | 1,200 | 120 | 300 | 1.32 | 44,928,000 | 593,049 |
| 5.03 | 67,392,000 | 3,389,817 | ||||
| Ore body 2 | 2,000 | 400 | 300 | 1.37 | 87,000,000 | 1,191,900 |
| 4.96 | 239,040,000 | 11,856,384 | ||||
| 10.95 | 297,960,000 | 32,626,620 | ||||
| Ore body 3 | 3,000 | 400 | 300 | 1.33 | 521,015,000 | 6,929,500 |
| 3.12 | 154,103,000 | 4,808,014 | ||||
| 9.14 | 366,912,000 | 33,477,113 | ||||
| Ore body 4 | 2,600 | 400 | 280 | 1.4 | 354,332,000 | 4,960,648 |
| 6.01 | 115,082,000 | 6,916,428 | ||||
| 7.4 | 287,705,000 | 21,290,170 | ||||
| Ore body 5 | 5,000 | 600 | 260 | 1.3 | 1,332,598,000 | 17,323,774 |
| 3.41 | 147,841,000 | 5,041,378 | ||||
| 5.7 | 547,560,000 | 31,210,920 | ||||
| Ore body 6 | 2,500 | 700 | 330 | 1.4 | 1,222,821,000 | 17,119,494 |
| 2.97 | 38,438,000 | 1,141,609 | ||||
| 6.78 | 240,240,000 | 16,288,272 | ||||
| TOTAL | 6,064,967,000 | 216,165,090 |
Special reference is made to Report 5 “Independent Geologist Report: Special Summary Report on the Jongju REE Target, Democratic People’s Republic of Korea”, dated 15 November 2012 in which (based on all available information) a mineralised potential of at least 6.06 Bt of mineralised material (intersected down to a depth of 200m) is stated. A detailed classification (based on mapping trenching and drilling) of mineralised potentials are summarised in the table below. In summary, and based on data produced by limited drilling and a comprehensive trenching exercise, the following summary is indicative of the Jongju Target: 664.9 Mt @ >9.00% TREO, 634.0 Mt @ >5.70 ≤ 9.00% TREO, 2.077 Bt @ >3.97 ≤ 5.70% TREO, 340.4 Mt @ >1.35 ≤ 3.97% TREO, and 2.339 Bt @ ≤1.35% TREO are present in the Jongju REE Target (a total of 216.2 Mt TREO). The THREO- component is assumed to be 2.62% or approximately 5.45 Mt. This potentially could place the Jongju Rare Earth deposit as the single largest light rare earth mineral deposit in the World.
Other Rare-earth deposits have been identified but have yet to be independently surveyed. It is believed according to geologists of the Academy of Science that these deposits have a loading towards heavy-rare-earths (”HREE”).
Locality
The Ryongpo Alkaline Complex (mineralisation discovered in 1947) is situated approximately 150km north-northwest of the capital city of Pyongyang of the Democratic People’s Republic of Korea (“DPRK”). The northern part of the North Pyongan Province can be reached on a combination of tar (road from Pyongyang towards Shiniju, and then north to Jongju City) and gravel roads. The majority of the local population in the Jongju area stay in Jongju City (North Latitude 39°46.362’’; East Longitude 125°15.518’’), although rural settlements are scattered throughout the region (Figure 1).
The topography of the project area is that of rolling hills, covered by indigenous vegetation and cultivated fields. Several steams are the source of fresh water. At higher elevations, the steams beds are filled with sediment and boulders. For reference, the road that intersects ore bodies 2 and 4 is situated at an elevation of 25 m amsl, with the surrounding hills and ranges reaching heights of 250 m amsl.
Figure 1: Locality of the Jongju REE Target
The highest temperature in summer is between 23°C and 35°C, while the lowest temperature in the winter (November to mid-April) is 8°C to -27°C. The average rainfall is approximately 1187 mm per year. In winter, approximately 43 days of snow cover can be expected (average thickness of 26 cm).
Planned Project and Time Schedule
Based on the recommendations within Report 1 “Independent Field investigation and Competent Persons Report: Ryongpo Alkaline Complex, North Pyongan Province, Democratic People’s Republic of Korea, further exploration is planned to recommence at the beginning of 2014, which will include 96,000 m (Phase 1) and 120,000m (Phase 2) of core drilling. These drill targets will be defined by ground-based geophysics and further detailed mapping and trenching. Results from the exploration program will be reported according to the Joint Ore Reserves Committee of The Australasian Institute of Mining and Metallurgy, Australian Institute of Geoscientists and Mineral Council of Australia (JORC Code (2004 / 2012)).
