Asra Minerals : New Exploration Program to Target REE and Critical Minerals

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Asra Minerals Limited	Phone [phone]
ABN 72 002 261 565	[e-mail]
104 Colin Street	ASX: ASR
West Perth WA 6005	asraminerals.com.au
Australia

11 July 2022

ASX RELEASE

New 50,000m drill program to target rare earth elements (REE) and critical minerals at Mt Stirling Project, Western Australia.

Highlights:

• Approvals have been received for up to 50,000m of drilling to target REEs and critical minerals at the company's Mt Stirling Project across nine tenements
• Proposed program to include resource definition drilling at the Yttria prospect to enable the delivery of a maiden mineral resource estimate
• Thousands of drill samples taken in earlier drilling from Yttria and Wishbone prospects continue to be collected and transported to the lab for assaying
• REE anomalism has been confirmed over 5.2km of strike length and up to 1.3km strike width, with an ongoing systematic surface pXRF survey continuing to test an interpreted ~7.5km strike mineralised corridor
• Mineralogical study indicates REE minerals are concentrated around the margins of manganese oxides
• Metallurgical test work has commenced ahead of beneficiation test work and leaching test work
• Mineralogical/Metallurgical program directed by Professor Ken Collerson with assistance of experienced metallurgist Gavin Beer

Asra Minerals Limited (ASX:ASR) has received permitting to drill up to 50,000m across nine tenements at its Mt Stirling Project in Western Australia to quantify and define the extensive presence of REES and critical minerals cobalt and scandium.

Proposed drilling will also include resource definition drilling at the company's previously identified Yttria prospect to enable the delivery of a maiden mineral resource estimate.

Drilling is also proposed to extend and define mineralisation at the nearby Wishbone prospect, extensions between Yttria and Wishbone, as well as to vector to regional REE and critical minerals mineralisation interpreted to continue in proximity to the Arktos Fault and associated structural splays.

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The new drilling program follows earlier drilling this year which confirmed the widespread occurrence of REEs, and cobalt and scandium in the regolith profile. In addition, pXRF analyses delineate the presence of Yttrium anomalism clusters (a pathfinder for the heavy rare earth elements) over a confirmed 5.2km strike length varying in lateral width up to 1.3km, from near-surface. An ongoing systematic surface pXRF survey continues to test an interpreted ~7.5km strike mineralised corridor.

Asra's Executive Chairman, Mr Paul Summers, said "The next round of drilling at Mt Stirling represents another positive step forward as we continue apace to uncover the true scale of this unique and potentially vast discovery. There are no similar REE deposits in Australia and it could be one of only a few existing worldwide."

Unique characteristics of REE discovery at Mt Stirling

A high ratio of heavy rare earths to total rare earths (0.62 to 1 ± 0.12) and a lack of radioactivity distinguish the company's Yttria prospect which hosts all four of the most critical battery REEs: dysprosium, terbium, neodymium and praseodymium. Importantly, a significant enrichment of scandium has been detected.1

Figure 1: REE and Y Distribution - Yttria

1 Refer to ASX announcement dated 13 May 2022 titled "Critical Minerals discovery at Yttria HREE prospect" for further details and JORC Table 1.

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Further, Yttria mineralisation is additionally unique due to its occurrence within a shallow oxide/regolith environment above a yet to be identified intrusive source. It is not an ionic clay deposit and its expanding dimension with continuous and homogenous composition should greatly assist the economics of mining, beneficiation, and production.

Figure 2: Mt Stirling Project location showing Yttria and Wishbone rare earths discoveries

Mineralogical study close to completion

Study of the mineralisation at Yttria and Wishbone was undertaken by QEMSCAN- MLA at the Julius Kruttschnitt Mineral Research Centre (JKMRC) at the University of Queensland, a world class provider of innovative applied research in mineral processing and geometallurgy. A mineralogical characterisation study report is close to completion and will be made available once received.

Preliminary observations to date have been extremely positive, showing that REEs are associated with abundant grains of secondary manganese oxides and asbolane (cobalt- bearing manganese oxide) to which they may be weakly bound. Additionally, REEs minerals (xenotime and monazite) also occur in the finer size fractions in all samples. These are interpreted to be relict primary minerals inherited from the source intrusion which occurs below the regolith.

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Metallurgical tests also underway

Experienced rare earth and critical minerals metallurgical consultant Gavin Beer has been retained by the company along with the company's REE consultant, Professor Ken Collerson to undertake and manage metallurgical test work.

Beneficiation of the ore will be investigated as a cost-effective method of increasing leach feed grade ahead of leaching. The size distribution observations provide the basis for investigating beneficiation.

Leaching test work will investigate liberation of these REE accumulations using weak acids and Ion Exchange Resin collection. This flow sheet has cost advantages over traditional neutralisation flow sheets, in particular acid consumption benefits.

Previous REE and critical minerals exploration

To date, a total of 1,318 auger vacuum (AV) drillholes for 16,472m has defined the large presence of REE and critical minerals mineralisation at Mt Stirling which remains open. Given the shallow nature of the mineralisation, and favorable oxide material being drilled; the pace of progress has been rapid.

On-going processing of this drilling through pXRF screening and sample selection, continues with sample batches being delivered to Labwest laboratory in Perth, for multiple element MMA digestion and analysis. Field crews continue to process collect and transport these samples for analysis.

Mineralogy update

Preliminary observations are as follows:

• Minerals include xenotime (YHREE phosphate) and monazite (LREE and HREE phosphate), bastnaesite (LREE and HREE fluorocarbonate), florencite (LREE fluorocarbonate), synchesite (LREE fluorocarbonate), stillwellite (LREE boro-silicate) and allanite (LREE and HREE hydrated silicate).
• These are most likely primary mineral phases preserved from the underlying source intrusion.
• Manganese oxides which formed during weathering are also enriched in REEs where REE rich minerals have been observed as small inclusions during the QEMSCAN study. As the initial ~70 % recovery REE results initially reported from Yttria were achieved using an Aqua Regia leach that would have only partially liberated HREEs from xenotime and monazite, it is likely that REEs are also present as surface complexes on manganese oxides.
• Asbolane is a manganese (IV) oxy-hydroxide mineral containing also cobalt, nickel, scandium, magnesium, and calcium ions confirmed by QEMSCAN is a likely host for deposition of these REE complexes

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• Further investigations are therefore planned using an analytical technique with improved sensitivity to document the relationship between the REE and Mn Oxides.

Figure 3: Mt Stirling Central Regional pXRF Yttrium by max (ppm)

This announcement has been authorised for release by the Board.

Further information:

Paul Summers	Gareth Quinn
Executive Chairman	Investor Relations
Asra Minerals Ltd	0417 711 108
[e-mail]	[e-mail]

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