Rimfire Pacific Mining has confirmed Currajong as a major scandium opportunity in New South Wales. The company’s latest drilling results highlight high-grade scandium zones across several intersections. This comes amid global concerns following Chinese export restrictions on critical minerals including scandium.
Drilling Results Reveal Strong Assay Highlights
Recent air core drilling at Currajong returned standout intersections across a 3km ultramafic belt. Key intercepts include 11m at 357ppm scandium from 16m, with 6m at 510ppm in a higher-grade zone. Another hole recorded 26m at 344ppm scandium from 9m, including 13m at 453ppm. Additional assay highlights show 9m at 386ppm scandium from 17m and 7m at 226ppm from 9m. Other notable hits include 17m at 210ppm scandium from 8m and 3m at 370ppm from 23m depth.
David Hutton: Currajong One of Fifield’s Best Prospects
Rimfire managing director David Hutton stated Currajong is one of the Fifield region’s top scandium finds. He said these drilling results show the project’s potential to support long-term scandium supply to the West. “This comes as China restricts scandium exports, threatening global access to this critical mineral,” Hutton noted. Rimfire holds a large scandium-prospective landholding across the wider Fifield scandium district in central NSW.
Map of Rimfire’s Fifield critical minerals projects in NSW, highlighting Currajong, Melrose, Murga, and Rabbit Trap prospects.
Saprolite Zone Hosting High-Grade Scandium Mineralisation
Most of the recent assay highlights come from a lower saprolite zone developed above ultramafic pyroxenite rocks. This weathered zone continues to reveal high scandium values consistent with earlier geological expectations. Importantly, the saprolite zone in Currajong appears extensive and mineralised across a wide grid of drill sites. Assays show Currajong’s saprolite zone may host economically viable scandium resources for future extraction.
Fresh Pyroxenite Also Shows Promising Intercepts
Beyond the saprolite zone, drilling into underlying fresh pyroxenite returned promising scandium values.Highlights include 7m at 176ppm scandium from 38m, and 8m at 103ppm from 49m depth. These deeper intersections confirm Currajong’s potential across multiple geological horizons in the ultramafic belt. This enhances confidence in Currajong as a long-term NSW mining asset focused on critical minerals.
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Chinese Export Restrictions Underscore Strategic Value
China’s scandium export controls underscore the need for secure Western supply chains for critical minerals. Currajong could emerge as a stable, low-risk scandium source at a time of global geopolitical uncertainty. Hutton stressed this during the announcement of the drilling results and assay highlights released to date. With global industries eyeing scandium for aerospace and clean tech, Currajong’s timing is highly significant.
Currajong drilling map showing key scandium zones and magnetic anomalies across a 3km ultramafic belt.
Next Steps: Final Assays and Resource Estimate Due Soon
Rimfire completed 200 air core holes totalling 6457m at Currajong, focused on magnetic anomaly targets. All holes were fully geologically logged and screened using portable XRF to prioritise samples. Laboratory assays have been released in batches, with the final batch expected by late July. A maiden scandium mineral resource estimate for Currajong is scheduled for release in August 2025. This will determine the project’s long-term value in the Australian and global scandium market. Certainly! Here’s a final 200-word paragraph to conclude your article, maintaining tone, style, and structure:
Scandium Demand Rising Amid Clean Energy Transition
As global industries accelerate toward net-zero goals, scandium’s role in lightweight alloys and solid oxide fuel cells continues to grow. Its ability to enhance aluminium strength and reduce weight makes it ideal for aerospace, electric vehicles, and renewable energy applications. The European Union and United States have both listed scandium as a strategic critical mineral, citing supply chain vulnerabilities. With limited primary scandium production globally—largely from China and Russia—new sources like Currajong are increasingly valuable.
Australia is positioned to become a leading scandium supplier due to stable mining regulations and geological potential. Rimfire’s broader Fifield district, including the nearby Melrose and Kars prospects, also shows scandium potential, enhancing the strategic footprint of the company. If Currajong delivers a robust mineral resource estimate in August, it could attract downstream interest from clean tech manufacturers and alloy producers. In the long term, this project could support new domestic supply chains for scandium-based products. The combination of favourable geology, emerging demand, and geopolitical urgency strengthens Currajong’s profile as a next-generation scandium project. Rimfire’s ongoing exploration success reaffirms its leadership in critical minerals discovery within New South Wales and supports Australia’s ambitions to become a key global supplier of high-tech metals.
