Cobra Resources (LSE:COBR), the South Australian mineral exploration and development company, in a broader project update, told investors it has completed all 74 drillholes of its Sonic core programme at the Wudinna heavy rare earth project.
The site uses in situ recovery (ISR) mining, a low-cost method that avoids excavation and haulage by extracting minerals directly through wellfields.
Assay results confirmed mineralisation continuity at the Head Prospect, with intersections including 2.35 metres at 1,567 parts per million total rare earth oxides (TREO) at drillhole CBSC0084, and 4.4 metres at 710ppm TREO at CBSC0083.
Consultancy ERM is now completing a maiden mineral resource estimate, due in the coming weeks, which will feed into a scoping study on project economics.
Hydrological testing found 70% of 50 samples across the Boland and Head prospects showed permeability comparable to or better than the installed Boland wellfield, supporting the case for productive ISR extraction.
Cobra has engaged JBS&G Environmental Consultants and Rendement Consulting to secure permits for a small-scale production demonstration at Boland, targeted for the first half of 2027.
The trial, designed alongside the Australian Nuclear Scientific Organisation's pilot facilities, aims to produce between 400 and 600 kilograms of mixed rare earth oxides over a roughly 60-day field programme.
"From discovery a little over two years ago, the project is now on the pathway to production," said Rupert Verco, Cobra's managing director.
The small-scale study is intended to build confidence in project economics ahead of a bankable feasibility study.
News Intelligence what this means for the company
Cobra Resources has completed its 74-hole Sonic drilling programme at Wudinna and is moving toward a production trial in H1 2027, with a maiden resource estimate due in coming weeks and hydrological testing confirming 70% of samples showed permeability comparable to or better than the installed Boland wellfield. The company is now progressing from exploration to de-risking phase, with a small-scale 400–600 kg demonstration designed to validate ISR economics before a bankable feasibility study—a material step forward from discovery just over two years ago.
Completion of resource-definition drilling and imminent maiden resource estimate remove a key near-term technical gate; the H1 2027 production trial is the next material inflection point. Success at Boland would validate the ISR extraction model and support progression to full feasibility, but the company remains pre-resource and pre-revenue, so execution risk on permitting, hydrological performance at scale, and economics remains substantial.
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