Key Highlights

  • Bayan's maiden reverse circulation program at the 100% owned Desert Star project comprised six holes totalling 856 metres.
  • Five of the six holes returned intercepts above 1,000 ppm TREO, with the best interval at 12.2 metres at 2,263 ppm TREO from 16.8 metres in hole DS-001.
  • Rare earth intercepts contain approximately 20% to 24% NdPr oxides as a proportion of TREO, a magnet rare earth component that requires further metallurgical work.
  • The results are exploration results only, with downhole widths reported and true widths unknown, and no mineral resource estimate has been declared.

Bayan Mining and Minerals Limited (ASX:BMM) has released assay results from its maiden drilling program at the Desert Star Rare Earth Project in San Bernardino County, California, in an announcement dated 10 November 2026. The company holds the project 100%, and the program was designed to validate its geological interpretation and test the subsurface continuity of rare earth targets identified through surface sampling and geophysical work. The results represent the first drill-based confirmation of rare earth mineralisation on the claim block.

Drilling program and results

Six reverse circulation holes totalling 856 metres were drilled at four locations within the 6.29 square kilometre claim block. Five of the six holes returned intercepts above 1,000 parts per million total rare earth oxide. Hole DS-001 returned 12.2 metres at 2,263 ppm TREO from 16.8 metres, including 3.0 metres at 3,497 ppm. Hole DS-006 returned 13.7 metres at 1,717 ppm from 12.2 metres. Hole DS-002 returned three intercepts within a 41.1 metre interval starting at 64.0 metres, with the hole ending in mineralisation.

All reported widths are downhole lengths, and the company states that true widths are not known. Intercepts were calculated with a 1,000 ppm lower cut-off and a limit on internal dilution, with no upper cut applied.

Mineralisation styles and magnet rare earth content

The company identifies two interpreted mineralisation styles. In the first, rare earths are associated with apatite within shonkinite dykes, an ultrapotassic mafic rock type. In the second, they are associated with monazite and allanite in gneiss and felsic intrusive rocks. Bayan says the interpretation remains subject to mineralogical confirmation.

Neodymium and praseodymium oxides make up 20% to 24% of TREO in all reported intercepts, which the company describes as a magnet rare earth component. Assays used a sodium peroxide fusion method with an ICP-MS finish. Fifty samples were re-analysed using lithium borate fusion, which returned about 17% more TREO in aggregate, mainly in the gneiss and granite. The company says the original results are therefore conservative, although the re-assay was on a limited sample set.

Land position and exploration scope

The shonkinite dykes remain open, and the deeper part of a modelled geophysical anomaly has not been tested. Only four of the drill locations have been tested so far, which limits the company's understanding of the wider target area. Bayan has also staked and filed five additional claims close to known geochemical and geophysical rare earth anomalies, extending its land position around the existing project.

The company's stated next steps include integrating the drilling data into a geological model, a systematic soil geochemistry program over geophysical anomalies, trenching, mapping and sampling to define the dykes, and re-assay of selected mineralised intervals by lithium borate fusion.

Risks and open questions

The results are exploration results only. The announcement does not include a mineral resource estimate, an economic study, or a view on the size or continuity of the mineralised system. Recoverability of the rare earths has not been tested, and the company notes that further mineralogical and metallurgical work is required to assess it.

The project is in an early stage, with the drilling confirming near-surface mineralisation at a limited number of locations. Follow-up programs will be needed before the company can estimate the scale of the system or its metallurgical characteristics, and the outcome of those programs remains uncertain.

Final Word

Bayan's maiden drilling has confirmed rare earth mineralisation at Desert Star at four locations, with high grades and a magnet rare earth component reported in all intercepts. The project is still at an exploration stage, and the next phase of soil, trench and re-assay work will determine whether the mineralised dykes can be defined and whether the metals can be recovered.