Key highlights

• RareX has reported results from its first drilling programme targeting basement rocks at the Khaleesi Project in Western Australia.

• The drilling confirmed a copper-nickel sulphide system at Niobe, which the company reported to the ASX on 3 November.

• This update covers the next tool, induced polarisation, and gallium enrichment in the results.

RareX (ASX:REE) has reported results from its first drilling programme targeting basement rocks at the Khaleesi Project in Western Australia's East Yilgarn. The company told the ASX on 3 November that the drilling had confirmed a copper-nickel sulphide system and widespread gallium enrichment within the Khaleesi Alkaline Intrusive Complex.

RareX had previously focused on gallium, niobium and rare earth opportunities at Khaleesi. The new results add copper as a potential further target, which the company describes as offering a possible high-value opportunity.

Copper-nickel at Niobe

The most important result came from the Niobe copper prospect, where drilling intersected copper-nickel sulphides in a layered mafic intrusion beneath a coincident gravity and magnetic anomaly. Hole KRC012 intersected 40 metres at 0.13% copper and 374 ppm nickel from 110 metres, including 24 metres at 0.16% copper and 543 ppm nickel from 126 metres.

Assays also confirmed a broader copper zone previously identified with portable X-ray fluorescence readings, returning 74 metres at 0.09% copper from 76 metres.

These grades are low. They are well below what would normally be needed for an economic copper deposit on their own. Their significance, as the company presents it, lies in confirming that sulphides are present in the right geological setting, with several holes finishing at or just into the top of the intrusion. Much of the system therefore remains untested, and mineralisation is open at depth.

The next tool: induced polarisation

RareX is planning an induced polarisation (IP) survey at Niobe, scheduled to begin in November 2026. IP surveys measure how rocks hold an electrical charge and are widely used to detect disseminated sulphides. The aim is to locate areas with higher concentrations of copper sulphides and guide follow-up drilling. Niobe is described as the most developed target across the project.

Gallium enrichment

Drilling also confirmed gallium enrichment associated with granites at the Niobe and Nb prospects. At Niobe, hole KRC017 returned 20 metres at 73 g/t gallium oxide from eight metres, while KRC009 intersected 16 metres at 75 g/t from eight metres. At Nb, drilling identified a broader granite-hosted zone of 91 metres at 59 g/t gallium oxide from 24 metres.

The results point to gallium in both the granites and the overlying weathered regolith. Gallium is used in semiconductors and other electronics, and China dominates supply, which has encouraged interest in alternative sources. Recovering gallium economically from low-grade material is technically challenging, however, and usually depends on it being a by-product of a larger operation.

Corporate context

RareX also told the ASX on 23 October that it had submitted a consortium bid for the Mrima Hill rare earth project. The outcome of that bid was not known at the time of writing.

Why it matters

The drilling broadens the range of possible outcomes at Khaleesi. Rather than relying on a single commodity, RareX now has copper-nickel, gallium, niobium and rare earth targets in one intrusive complex. The flip side is that none has yet been defined as a resource, and a multi-commodity story can be harder to fund.

What to watch

The key next step is the IP survey at Niobe and any drill targets it generates. Investors may also watch for updates on Mrima Hill.

Reading low grades fairly

It is worth stressing that early basement drilling returns modest grades, because the first holes are designed to understand geology rather than to hit the richest zones. Many significant discoveries began with low-grade indications that guided later drilling. The IP survey is the next filter.