Locksley Resources scales up US antimony-rare earths hunt for maximum impact

Locksley Resources’ recently discovered historical shaft, with a collapsed headframe, along with rail track and a waste dump at its new Hendricks prospect, part of the company’s Mojave project in California.

In a bold show of ambition, Locksley Resources (ASX: LKY) has unveiled a substantial boost to its exploration efforts at the company’s flagship Mojave antimony and rare earths project in California.

The latest update spotlights its plans to up the exploration ante on its expanded United States landholding. The company last week revealed its land-grab had pushed past 40 square kilometres, abutting the world-class Mountain Pass rare earths mine owned by MP Materials. It has also discovered fresh historical workings teeming with antimony and rare earths potential.

At the heart of Locksley’s enlarged program is a beefed-up exploration blueprint designed to strike paydirt swiftly. After a full evaluation of recent exploration, management will shortly outline the details of its buffed-up program. It plans to rapidly deploy a multi-pronged assault across the newly acquired acreage to sniff out the most compelling prospects.

With a new pedal-to-the-metal approach to the pace of its exploration program, in conjunction with funding secured, Locksley will lock upcoming programs into high gear to chase prospective targets and position itself as a nimble contender in the critical minerals race.

Amid soaring global demand for antimony and rare earth elements, the company intends to test existing targets and zero in on additional minerals identified on its newly expanded ground, aimed at unlocking a treasure trove next door to one of the planet’s most talked-about rare earth deposits.

The core of the announcement highlights Locksley’s belief in the explosive potential of the Mojave project. After recently snapping up additional strategic ground, its tenure has rocketed from 20 square kilometres to more than 40 sq km - directly adjacent to rare earths juggernaut MP Materials’ Mountain Pass operation - the only rare earth mine of scale in North America.

Mountain Pass produces the valuable light rare earths, neodymium and praseodymium, a key material used in permanent magnets produced for electric vehicles, wind turbines, robotics and other advanced technologies.

During recent field mapping undertaken to define the area’s rare earths potential, the company’s geologists discovered an historical shaft in the core of its North Block.

The substantial shaft, potentially greater than 15 metres in depth, has been mined historically. The company has collected grab samples from the shaft to determine what commodities might have been previously extracted. The newly discovered workings provide a new target – named Hendricks.

Compounding the thrill of the new find, recent fieldwork has unearthed additional historical antimony workings across the project, including overlooked high-grade veins and prospects ripe for modern exploration. These findings build on prior successes, such as rock chip samples with up to 32.7 per cent antimony and 1170 parts per million (ppm) total rare earth oxides, signalling the potential for a dual-commodity bonanza in a region starved for secure Western supplies of critical minerals.

With permitting fast-tracked under California’s streamlined processes for critical minerals, Locksley will look to push the pace on moving the project closer to its production goal, should its expanded program kick some big exploration goals.

Locksley’s Mojave vision extends beyond expansion, it’s a calculated play in a geopolitical critical minerals chess game. Antimony, essential for flame retardants, batteries, and defence applications, faces supply risks with China dominating 80 per cent of global production amid export curbs. Meanwhile, Western governments are scrambling for domestic sources of both antimony and rare earths minerals.

Locksley’s Mojave project offers a low-risk entry into this high-stakes arena. The company’s recent Frankfurt listing and OTC Markets debut have broadened its investor base, while strategic alliances, including a non-binding memorandum of understanding with a US antimony mine to source supply for its DeepSolv processing method, help to de-risk its processing pathway.

The company hosted a site visit for brokers and analysts last week, following the huge boost to its landholdings. The visit detailed first-hand the growth in the project’s promising ground and outlined drilling plans at its Desert antimony mine and El Campo prospect.

The substantial expansion of our landholding within the Mojave critical minerals corridor marks a pivotal step in Locksley’s growth. The site visit with brokers and analysts provided an excellent opportunity to showcase not only the scale of our tenure, but also the strategic importance of our position alongside MP Materials.

Locksley Resources Chairman Pat Burke

Last week’s announcement of the company nabbing another 249 claims - lifting the tally to 491 at its Mojave Desert project - directly next door to MP Materials’ Mountain Pass rare earths mine, jolted the market into sitting up straight and paying attention.

Having been on a rocket ship from a May-low of 1.8 cents a share to 29.5c before last Friday’s ground-grabbing reveal, Locksley’s share price got further spring in its legs, leaping to a high of 53c on Friday. It quickly blasted past that level today, reaching a peak of 62c a share, for an impressive 3344 per cent increase within the past four months. That’s a good return by anyone’s standards.

Management jumped at the opportunity to also pick up a new block lying 3 kilometres from ASX-listed Dateline Resources’ Colosseum gold and rare earths project. According to US Geological Survey datasets, the ground is sprinkled with flashes of polymetallic and precious metal mineralisation, opening the potential for Locksley to widen its metals portfolio.

The addition of extra ground to Locksley’s Southern Block also turned heads, with magnetic survey data across these leases picking up strong signals of gneissic rocks and regional north-west-trending structures. They are considered almost identical to those found at Mountain Pass and are potentially prime pathways for rare earth-bearing carbonatites.

As the desert sun beats down on those ancient workings, Locksley plans to probe its ground every which way to unearth more antimony and gold prospects. The company is determined to transform Mojave from prospect to powerhouse and help deliver the critical minerals the western world needs.

Is your ASX-listed company doing something interesting? Contact: office@bullsnbears.com.au