Eclipse Metals (ASX:EPM) advances Grønnedal rare earths program with staged WHIMS test work and drill core assays pending

Eclipse Metals has commenced preliminary metallurgical test work at its Grønnedal Rare Earths Project in Greenland, marking the next technical step in evaluating separation characteristics from both historic composite material and newly collected diamond drill core, with laboratory work now underway in Perth.

Highlights

• Preliminary Wet High Intensity Magnetic Separation testing has commenced to assess magnetic separation properties.
• 7 composite samples prepared from historic material have been submitted to ALS Laboratories in Perth.
• 2025 diamond drill core has been logged and sampled and is pending analytical work at ALS.
• Initial sighter tests at approximately 7,000 Gauss recorded magnetic mass pulls of 78.0% and 85.9% for selected composites, with assays pending.
• Engagement continues with stakeholders across the US, EU, Denmark and Greenland in support of non China aligned critical minerals supply chains.

The current program centres on Wet High Intensity Magnetic Separation as a first pass diagnostic tool to understand how rare earth element mineralisation at Grønnedal responds to staged magnetic field strengths.

Seven composites, each between 1.25kg and 4.5kg, were prepared from representative areas of the deposit and submitted for testing to establish a baseline dataset that can guide subsequent flowsheet refinement.

Head assays for these composites show total rare earth element values ranging from 2,391ppm to 7,514ppm, with heavy rare earth components between 211ppm and 790ppm, reflecting the variable distribution across the sampled intervals.

Initial sighter tests on two of the composites at approximately 7,000 Gauss produced magnetic mass pulls of 78.0% and 85.9%, results that describe only the proportion of material reporting to the magnetic fraction at that field strength.

Assays of the magnetic and non magnetic products are pending and will determine the extent of rare earth deportment across the separation stages, with further work planned at higher field settings up to 15,000 Gauss to assess the balance between magnetic intensity, mass pull and grade distribution.

In parallel, samples from the 2025 diamond drilling program in Greenland have been cut, logged and dispatched to ALS Laboratories in Perth, with analytical work scheduled to proceed during January.

The drill core will be analysed following completion of the initial composite based test work, allowing the metallurgical response of fresh, representative material to be assessed and compared with historic datasets before further test work is undertaken.

The geological setting at Grønnedal is described as a carbonatite and nepheline syenite intrusion within Archean crystalline basement, a style recognised for hosting rare earth element mineralisation, with current observations indicating that mineralised zones are commonly associated with iron rich domains that display strong magnetic response.

This association underpins the staged WHIMS approach, which is being used to generate discrete magnetic and non magnetic fractions for detailed assay and to inform conceptual processing pathways.

Beyond the laboratory program, Eclipse has confirmed that it is maintaining government aligned engagement with stakeholders across allied jurisdictions, including the United States, the European Union, Denmark and Greenland, as part of efforts to support strategic, non China aligned critical minerals supply chains and to align future project development with the priorities of these regions.

Looking ahead, near term news flow is expected from the completion of composite and drill core assays, followed by reporting of staged magnetic separation results once datasets are compiled and reviewed.

Within a broader industry context of heightened focus on secure rare earth supply, the progression of metallurgical characterisation at Grønnedal represents a foundational technical step in defining processing behaviour and informing subsequent development pathways for one of Greenland’s recognised rare earth element targets.

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