Kendrick Resources (LSE:KEN) told investors it has completed a planned drill programme targeting sub-surface carbonatites at Teufelskuppe, reaching 100 diamond and reverse circulation holes for a cumulative 7,512 metres.
The London-listed rare earth explorer, which holds a 70% interest in the Teufelskuppe and Kieshöhe carbonatite licences in south-west Namibia, set out the milestone in a progress update it first announced back in May.
The company meanwhile commissioned independent consultancy Sound Mining to deliver a maiden JORC (2012) Mineral Resource Estimate for Teufelskuppe by the end of January 2027, a target it says remains achievable subject to laboratory turnaround times.
Portable XRF measurements remain outstanding for 14 holes, with 30 holes still to be sampled and submitted for certified assay.
A separate diamond and air core drill programme targeting carbonatite resources at Kieshöhe, where Kendrick says an extraordinary density of mineralised carbonatite sheets points to significant tonnage at lower grade than Teufelskuppe, is also under way.
On the metallurgical side, three bulk samples sent to German consultancy Dorfner Anzaplan for early-stage recovery testwork, announced on 26 August, have progressed well against the agreed scope of work, with a preliminary report expected before 31 December.
That testwork follows a mineralogical study completed on 10 September, which confirmed Teufelskuppe's dominant rare earth minerals are fluorocarbonates amenable to established processing routes, with total rare earth element content averaging 3.8%, which the company places in the higher quartile of abundances identified at the project to date.
Kendrick is targeting a preliminary feasibility study and preliminary economic assessment for the middle of 2027, alongside what it describes as a dual-pathway strategy of advancing an in-house production plan while remaining open to partnerships across the global rare earths value chain.
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"We continue to make excellent progress and results from drilling remain highly positive with continuity of mineralisation and high grades being the main characteristics of the TK complex", said chairman Colin Bird, adding that the metallurgical results and maiden resource estimate "represent two major steps in the development of both TK and KH".
Kendrick's volumetric work has previously pointed to roughly 14 million tonnes of above-ground carbonatite mineralisation at Teufelskuppe, based on a Digital Elevation Model survey announced in May, with the current drilling campaign designed to convert that in-house estimate into a JORC-compliant resource.
The company says it continues to see a high level of interest in the Bonya project from industry, government and private equity sources, which it is seeking to convert into partnerships that support its ambition to become a significant supplier of critical rare earth materials.