Rare Earth Hunt Returns to Wind Mountain
The rare earth hunt returns to Wind Mountain, as Geovic Mining and its financial backer, the Js Group, plan to begin a new round of test drilling at the peak in the coming weeks.
Three years after an initial round of drilling ended, the companies now plan to drill deeper – to assess the depth and quality of rare-earth-bearing minerals. Scott Stephens, of the Js Group, said Tuesday (March 31) that the companies hoped to have a drill rig “in and on within the next 10 days.”
“Right now, we’re hoping to do three [drill] pads this spring,” Stephens said. “It’s going to depend on what Geovic sees in the way of cores in the first pad, as far as how many additional pads we pursue. Weather – temperature and wind – will also affect how much we can get done.”
Geovic has been permitted to drill up to 25 holes from seven 50-by-50-foot drill pads spaced out along the eastern flanks of Wind Mountain, which is located in Otero County, N.M. northwest of Dell City. The permit – approved by both the Bureau of Land Management and New Mexico mining authorities – allows the company to drill as deep as 750 feet, though Stephens said the holes “would likely be in the 500-foot range.” Stephens said the first hole will be drilled near the center of the mountain’s eastern flank.
Drill rigs for the project are designed to be flown in and assembled from a helicopter, and Stephens said the beginning of operations depends on favorable wind conditions. He said a flight could take place as soon as Monday (April 6). Helicopter flights, and drilling operations, would likely have to stop when summer weather arrives, he said.
Geovic staked mining claims in and around Wind Mountain in the winter of 2011, and between June 2011 and early 2012 the company drilled a series of holes near the peak. Those holes went to depths of less than 200 feet.
Like Texas Rare Earth Resources at its Round Top project near Sierra Blanca, Geovic and the Js Group are targeting rare earth elements, a class of heavy metals that can increase the power of magnets and which are ubiquitous in modern technologies.
At 7,200 feet, Wind Mountain is the highest mountain in the Cornudas Range, and it looms above the vast grasslands of the Otero Mesa, in New Mexico, and the Diablo Plateau in Hudspeth County. In the past, officials at the U.S. Interior Department had considered designating BLM-managed land on the Otero Mesa a national monument. When it was announced, the prospect of a mining operation in the center of this spectacular desert-mountain landscape drew fire from a range of New Mexico environmental organizations. Abundant Native American artifacts are present in the Cornudas Mountains.
At Wind Mountain, rare earths are found in a mineral called eudialyte. Based on the first test drilling, Geovic geologists believe that eudialyte deposits may exist in a ring around Wind Mountain, where the mountain’s volcanic rock meets surrounding limestone. The new round of test holes is designed to determine if eudialyte deposits exist at depth; how deep they might go; and how much rare earths they contain.
In September 2013, Geovic announced it had partnered with the Js Group – a Wyoming-based investment group that has worked in oil-and-gas projects in the past – and the Js Group is now the main funding source for the Wind Mountain project. Stephens said that Geovic’s founder, William Buckovic, is providing “scientific expertise and is still the primary geologist on the project,” while the Js Group is “helping to get the project going on the ground.” Buckovic, or another Geovic geologist, will be on-site while drilling is underway, Stephens said.
Stephens said that using a helicopter to transport and assemble drill rigs from the air will minimize the impacts of the operation. He said drill pads will likely be smaller than 50-by-50 feet.
Like TRER’s project in Hudspeth County, Geovic’s project in the Cornudas emerged during a period of heightened concern about the availability of rare earth elements. At that time, officials in China, where almost all of the world’s rare earths are produced, signaled they would cut exports, and rare-earth prices spikes. Chinese exports continued, however, and prices have fallen, reducing investor interest in new rare-earth endeavors. Those market factors may have contributed to the three-year delay in drilling in Geovic’s Cornudas project.