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DTR Rare Earth Webinar Transcript

Stephen:
Thank you for joining us today as we talk to Messrs Mariano and gain insight into their extensive experience and understanding of the Colosseum-Mountain Pass corridor, and what it means for Dateline potentially. We’ll also have a general chat about who they are, what they know, and the upside and potential there.

I have a few questions. Firstly, as an introduction, Tony Junior, maybe you can tell us a little bit about your experiences, the projects you’ve worked on, how long you’ve been doing it, both you and your father together.

I know that part of your career was spent doing your own thing, and then you spent a large part of your career working with your father, who has been in the industry for a very long time. Over to you on that.

Tony Junior:
Thanks, Steve. I’ve been lucky enough to work with the best in the world. We’ve been working together for a little shy of 15 years, but we did work together when I first started out. There was a time in between that we did different things, but we specialize in rare earths and other specialty metals. The bulk of our work is in rare earths. I’ve probably worked on 75 to 85 separate rare earth projects across about 20 to 25 different countries. My father has been at it for many more years—between 50 and 60—and has worked on many more occurrences than I have. We have a lot of experience in understanding and evaluating rare earth projects both in the field and in the laboratory.

Tony Senior:
I started working on rare earths and various other elements that occur in ides and alkaline rocks in 1965. I was doing basic research with Kennecott Copper, which allowed me to do anything I wanted. It was a long time ago when people could do that kind of work. I’ve worked on all the deposits in the laboratory and in the field that feed the marketplace. The only place I haven’t worked on, though I tried, is Tom Tor in Siberia, Russia, which supposedly has some very interesting mineralization. The Russians were not interested in having me there.

I’ve had a long association with Mountain Pass, starting heavy work with them in 1966 when I was with Kennecott. I visited Mountain Pass every year as a guest because I was doing basic research. The chief geologist there, Don Bryant, was a very good friend and interested in my involvement. They even invited me to visit other carbonatites in other parts of the world.

One of those was in Australia. I began working at Mount Weld in 1980. At first, Union Oil of Australia geologists sent me drill core, and we were looking for niobium there. I did extensive work on fresh drill core, looking for niobium and tantalum, and wrote comprehensive reports on my observations. In February 1980, I visited the area, went to Perth, and looked at the drill core stored there. I discovered supergene rare earth mineralization at Mount Weld, which started that program for both rare earths and phosphate for apatite. My opinion was that Mount Weld could not compare with Mountain Pass, mainly because the grade is lower and there would be great difficulties in both physical and chemical processing. Since the company was busy mining Mountain Pass, they decided not to get involved and gave it up.

Stephen:
Certainly, Mount Weld has gone on to be successful in its own right, but the grade at Mountain Pass is higher and the processing is easier, which is part of the reason we were attracted to that area. Knowing there was a world-class carbonatite down the road from the Colosseum, we were very attracted and were fortunate to be introduced to you by the Mountain Pass people. Tony Junior has done a lot of recent work out there, along with Russell Mason, the structural geologist.

Tony Junior, in your own words, what have you seen at the Colosseum that’s encouraged you? You mentioned you were surprised at what you found or the amount you found.

Tony Junior:
Initially, prompted by some of the radiometrics and geophysics from the USGS, there was reason to follow up because it showed lineaments connecting the Colosseum area to Mountain Pass. We discovered fenite rock, which is formed from metasomatic fluids off alkali carbonatite deposits. This spring, during full reconnaissance mapping with Russell Mason, I was completely surprised at the amount of fenite and trachyte dikes showing indications of being mantle-derived and associated with an alkaline carbonatite system. That was a promising sign.

We’ve received assay results from some of the samples, and they are very similar to what is seen at Mountain Pass—strontium, barium, and anomalous rare earths, particularly light lanthanides, which indicate mantle-derived material. These are important geochemical indicators and are also present at Mountain Pass.

Tony Senior:
The presence of barium and strontium is significant. Mountain Pass is very high in barium, and all carbonatites are anomalous in strontium, sometimes even more than barium. The presence of anomalous light lanthanides is an indicator of mantle-derived material, which is exactly what you have at Mountain Pass. In the drill core at Mountain Pass, you see the carbonatite sandwiched between fenites, with clear signs of alteration as you move from country rock into the carbonatite and back out.

Moderator:
So, essentially, the carbonatite is sandwiched between the fenites, and at our property, we’re finding an abundance of fenites and trachytes, which is encouraging.

Tony Senior:
Trachytes are also, in many parts of the world, genetically related to carbonatites. In the search for carbonatites, the presence of fenitization and trachytes functions as an indicator. For example, the Bear Lodge carbonatite in Wyoming was discovered because of adjacent alkaline occurrences and trachytes.

Moderator:
Are there any chemical indicators as we drill that will tell us we are getting closer to a carbonatite?

Tony Senior:
Fenitization and the presence of trachytes are important indicators, especially when we are close to Mountain Pass and on the same lineament. An increase in barium and strontium could also be good geochemical indicators.

Moderator:
Tony Junior, with your field experience, how would you rate the prospect of finding a carbonatite near the fenites we’ve found?

Tony Junior:
There is every indication that this is the place. If someone were to ask me now, after seeing these deposits all over the world, where is the best prospect, hands down it would be Colosseum. It’s in the neighborhood of the richest rare earth deposit in the world, and the way the rare earths occur in the bastnaesite mineralization in the carbonatite is what you want—it feeds the marketplace.

Moderator:
What is the next obvious step in our search for this carbonatite?

Tony Senior:
The next step is discovering a body of sufficient size and shape consisting of carbonatite at Colosseum, which may be buried and not exposed. That body will have a very high density relative to the country rock. A gravity survey would be the best approach to finding such a body.

Moderator:
So a gravity survey is the next step, and hopefully, it will show us some targets for drilling. I’ll now switch over to Andrew, the moderator, for audience questions.

Andrew (Moderator):
We have some questions from the audience. The first is: How likely is it that the fenitization we’re seeing at Colosseum points to a carbonatite within the tenement area, or could it relate all the way back to Mountain Pass?

Tony Senior:
Unlikely. The fenite is usually immediately adjacent to or very close to the body creating those metasomatic fluids.

Andrew:
How do you see the supply side playing out in the US, Canada, and Australia for rare earths?

Tony Junior:
We’re not involved in the market side; our expertise is in the geological aspects and evaluation for potential mining.

Moderator:
What is the probability of finding a carbonatite as rich as Mountain Pass?

Tony Senior:
Mountain Pass is unique, like Palabora in South Africa. It’s very high in rare earths and amenable to excellent physical and chemical processing. While the tonnage may not be as great as Bayan Obo, Mountain Pass is mined solely for rare earths and is able to produce high-grade concentrates. It’s hard to say if we’ll find something as rich, but the indications are promising.

Andrew:
What is the significance of having trachyte dikes over several hundred meters at Colosseum?

Tony Junior:
The trachyte dikes are mantle-derived and connected to the system. Their extent is encouraging, indicating a large system. The mineralogy and geochemistry are associated with carbonatites.

Andrew:
What’s the estimated timing for the gravity survey results?

Moderator:
We expect to have results within the next 30 days. The geophysicist engaged has experience at Mountain Pass and is well-equipped to interpret the data.

Andrew:
Would the US government assist with financing development of a rare earth deposit at Colosseum?

Moderator:
The US government has signaled its intention to assist with the development of critical metals. If we find a carbonatite and need to develop it, agencies like the Department of Energy, Interior, and Defense are all actively involved in supporting American supply of critical metals.

Andrew:
What’s the significance of the equal weighting of major element concentration between Colosseum fenites and Mountain Pass?

Tony Junior:
The similarity in major elements is another indication that the systems are geochemically similar. It’s not a comparison of fenites to ore, but rather evidence to understand and define the system we’re working in.

Stephen:

Thank you to everyone who attended. We hope today has been informative and given you a better understanding of the potential for discovery at Colosseum. Thank you to the Mariano family for their time and insights.