Critical minerals explorer Locksley Resources has added 249 additional claims to its landholding of more than 40km² of highly prospective critical minerals in California's Mojave region.
The expansion brings the company's total landholding in the region to 491 claims.
Strategically located adjacent to Locksley's existing tenements, the new claims adjoin the landholding that includes the Mountain Pass rare earth mine owned by MP Materials.
The additional claims not only bolster Locksley's land position but also secure acreage next to the company's recently discovered antimony, rare earth elements (REEs) and polymetallic mineralisation.
Locksley head of strategy, capital markets and commercialisation Nathan Lude said: "With demand for antimony and REEs underpinned by US supply chain security initiatives, the expanded landholding provides Locksley with a broader platform to advance multiple exploration and development opportunities.”
The south-east claims incorporate favourable gneissic geology known to host the Mountain Pass mine and carbonatites.
Locksley technical director Julian Woodcock highlighted the presence of "substantial regional north to north-west striking structures evident in the magnetic geophysics datasets". Woodcock suggested these structures could potentially be conduits for REE-bearing carbonatites and relate to other mineralisation styles.
Woodcock also noted the proximity of the northern claims to Dateline Resources' Colosseum Gold Project, located just 3km along strike.
"In addition, the USGS geochemical database indicates polymetallic and precious metals occurrences in the area immediately adjoining the new northern claims. As such there are multiple commodity opportunities evident within this claim area,” Woodcock said.
Locksley Resources is focused on critical minerals and base metals, with assets in both the US and Australia. The company is actively advancing its US asset, the Mojave project, targeting REEs and antimony.
Locksley has also entered into a strategic partnership with Rice University to develop its DeepSolv domestic processing technology for North American antimony, marking the initiation of the company’s Critical Minerals and Energy Resilience Strategy.
