Kendrick Resources Plc has commenced drilling operations at its Kieshöhe rare earths project in southern Namibia, as it advances exploration across its Bonya portfolio.
The Kieshöhe project, located about 40km west of Aus and 60km east of Lüderitz, forms part of Kendrick’s broader rare earths strategy, where the company holds a 70% interest in both the Kieshöhe (EPL 4458) and Teufelskuppe (EPL 6691) licences.
The current drilling programme is targeting two carbonatite complexes at Kieshöhe and Teufelskuppe, with plans to deploy a second drill rig to enable simultaneous operations at both sites.
At Kieshöhe, more than 2,500 metres of trenching has been completed and is currently being sampled, with further work focused on mineralised breccia zones between high-grade carbonatite structures.
Chairman Colin Bird said the programme is aimed at assessing Kieshöhe’s potential to support the company’s flagship Teufelskuppe project.
“The Kieshöhe work programme will assess the potential for the project to serve as a supporting venture to our flagship Teufelskuppe project. Extensive historical exploration at Kieshöhe has broadly defined a large rare earth element resource at strong grades, at a time when such resources are increasingly a global priority,” he said.
Initial results from Phase I drilling and channel sampling have returned encouraging grades, with an average total rare earth element (TREE) grade of 1.6%, while some whole-rock samples have recorded averages of up to 2.0%. High-value rare earths neodymium and praseodymium account for an average of 27% of the composition.
Kendrick has identified three potential open-pit sites at Kieshöhe, which could serve as satellite sources of ore to support Teufelskuppe, located about 30km away. The company plans to integrate production from both sites into a centralised processing strategy.
Samples from Kieshöhe have been submitted to an independent international laboratory for detailed petrological analysis, with results expected to inform the next phase of metallurgical testing and refine future exploration plans.
“We will now progress a detailed work programme focused on confirming the lateral and depth continuity of the surface geology, grade and mineral assemblage, leading to a JORC (2012) Mineral Resource Estimate supported by comprehensive metallurgical test work,” Bird said.
The project is underpinned by favourable geology, with mineralisation hosted in carbonatite formations similar to those at Teufelskuppe. Historical data indicates peak grades of up to 10% TREE, alongside relatively low uranium content compared to similar deposits globally.
