PERTH: Aukin Mining Limited announced it will acquire up to a 75% interest in the Qeqertaasaq niobium and rare earth project in Greenland, marking a strategic shift toward critical minerals.

The company said the acquisition involves no upfront cost and provides a low-entry, risk-managed approach to an extensively explored project. The Qeqertaasaq exploration license covers a 3-by-5-kilometer carbonatite complex, with mineralization starting from the surface.

Historical exploration has returned high-grade assay results, including surface samples of up to 11.8% niobium oxide (Nb2O5) and 12.3% total rare earth oxides (TREO). Shallow scout drilling conducted in 1975 by Kryoliteskabet Øresund returned notable intercepts, including 15.9 meters at 0.80% Nb2O5 from 3.6 meters, 10.4 meters at 1.29% Nb2O5 from 1.9 meters, and 84.37 meters at 0.51% Nb2O5 from 13.35 meters. The company cautioned that these historical results have not been reported in accordance with the JORC Code 2012 and have not been independently validated.

Historical trenching in 2010 by NunaMinerals returned peak rare earth values of 13.23% TREO, with trench highlights including 5.14% TREO over 3.19 meters. Preliminary metallurgical test work in 2011 indicated up to 82% TREO recovery via rapid leaching under mild hydrochloric acid conditions at approximately 50 degrees Celsius, without requiring fine grinding.

The company said niobium mineralization remains open in all directions, and the principal rare earth “Discovery Vein” has been historically reported over more than 750 meters of strike and at least 200 meters down dip, remaining open along strike and at depth.

Aukin said it plans resource definition drilling of approximately 3,000 to 5,000 meters to establish an inferred mineral resource estimate, along with bench-scale metallurgical sampling and test work to verify historical results and design a suitable beneficiation flow sheet. Proposed processing flowsheets include physical upgrading and flotation to produce a pyrochlore-bearing niobium concentrate, and gravity separation for a rare earth concentrate.

The Qeqertaasaq project is part of Aukin’s broader critical minerals portfolio, which also includes the Tundulu rare earth project in Malawi, the Big Wilson tin-tungsten acquisition in Australia, the Koongie Park copper-zinc joint venture, and the Mkuju uranium project in Tanzania.

The information in the presentation is based on a review by Mark Mitchell, a member of the Australian Institute of Geoscientists and an independent consultant to Aukin Mining Limited.