AuKing Mining Ltd. has agreed to acquire up to a 75 per cent interest in the Qeqertaasaq niobium and rare earths project, located in West Greenland.
Under the staged earn-in agreement with Xploration Services Greenland A/S, AuKing can earn its stake with zero upfront acquisition cost by sole funding up to €10 million (AU$16.3 million) in exploration expenditure over six years.
The transaction secures AuKing’s entry into a 64-square-kilometre exploration licence covering a substantial three by five-kilometre carbonatite complex with year-round, ice-free deepwater access nearby.
Historical exploration across the property has yielded high-grade surface samples up to 11.8 per cent niobium oxide and 12.3 per cent total rare earth oxides (TREO).
Historical deeper drilling from 1976 returned significant intercepts, including 84.37 metres at 0.51 per cent niobium oxide from 13.35 metres, with mineralisation remaining open in all directions.
Preliminary metallurgical testing conducted in 2011 demonstrated rapid leaching and over 80 per cent TREO recovery under mild hydrochloric acid conditions at roughly 50 degrees Celsius without requiring fine grinding.
The acquisition comes during a period of heightened international focus on Greenland’s critical minerals sector following recent security and supply chain agreements between the United States, Greenland, and Denmark.
AuKing Managing Director Paul Williams noted the value of the project’s extensive historical database, which includes more than 10,000 metres of prior drilling.
“One of the key reasons for securing Qeqertaasaq is the significant database of historical exploration, including more than 10,000m of drilling since the mid-1970s,” Williams said.
“A key early activity will be a thorough review of all available historical exploration data, prior to formulating the next phase of exploration activities.”
AuKing is well funded to support the Qeqertaasaq transaction while continuing its ongoing diamond drilling program at the Tundulu rare earths project in Malawi.
Initial next steps will focus on compiling historical data, undertaking bench-scale metallurgical test work, and completing a 3,000 to 5,000-metre resource definition drilling campaign to establish an initial Inferred Mineral Resource estimate.
