Cobra Resources Advances Wudinna Rare Earth Project Toward a Maiden Resource & Small-Scale Production

• Sonic core drilling across a 74-hole programme is complete, with all assay results received and mineralisation continuity confirmed at the Head Prospect.
• Head Prospect intersections include 1,567 parts per million (ppm) total rare earth oxide (TREO) over 2.35 metres (m) from a depth of 11 metres, carrying the heavy rare earths dysprosium and terbium.
• Consultant ERM has been engaged to complete a maiden mineral resource estimate (MRE), after which Cobra will proceed to a scoping study on project economics.
• Permeability testing found that 70% of 50 samples across the Boland and Head Prospects match or exceed the permeability of the installed Boland wellfield.
• Preliminary engineering is complete for a small-scale production plant at the Boland wellfield, designed to produce 400 to 600 kg of Mixed Rare Earth Oxides through the Australian Nuclear Science and Technology Organisation (ANSTO) pilot facility in the first half of 2027.
• Environmental consultants have been engaged to secure permits for the small-scale production demonstration.

Company Overview

Cobra Resources (LSE: COBR) is a South Australian critical minerals developer advancing assets across all stages of the pre-production pathway. In 2023, the company identified the Boland ionic rare earth discovery at its Wudinna Project in the Gawler Craton, described as Australia's only rare earth project suitable for in situ recovery (ISR) mining, a low-cost, low-disturbance method that removes the need for excavation. In 2025, it optioned the Manna Hill Copper Project in the Nackara Arc and sold its Wudinna Gold Assets to Barton Gold for up to A$15 million in cash and shares.

Drilling Confirms Continuity at Head 

Cobra Resources has completed its 74-hole Sonic core-drilling programme at the Wudinna project and has received all assay results, confirming the continuity of mineralisation at the Head Prospect. The intersections define high-grade zones on both the eastern and western margins of the palaeochannel system, extending the mineralisation that supports a resource estimate.

Results at the Head Prospect returned 1,567 parts per million (ppm) total rare earth oxide (TREO) over 2.35 metres (m) from 11 metres depth, 916 ppm TREO over 2.75 metres from 38.3 metres depth, 710 ppm TREO over 4.4 metres from 27.1 metres depth, and 504 ppm TREO over 2.8 metres from 36.1 metres depth. The shallowest of these carried 505 ppm neodymium-praseodymium and 17 ppm dysprosium-terbium, the elements used in permanent magnets. 

Maiden Resource Estimate & Scoping Study 

Global consultancy ERM has been engaged to complete a maiden mineral resource estimate (MRE) for the project, which the company expects in the coming weeks. Upon completion of the MRE, Cobra will proceed with a scoping study to evaluate the project's economics.

Hydrological testing of particle-size distribution found that 70% of 50 samples taken across the Boland and Head Prospects show permeability comparable to or greater than that of the installed Boland wellfield. Cobra reports this as evidence of favourable productive permeabilities across the drilled footprint, a key input for a recovery method that relies on fluids moving through the host aquifer.  

Metallurgy and Small-Scale Production Design 

Analysis of 43 samples from the Head and Boland Prospects is underway to support recovery estimates across the wider resource area. Two bulk composite samples of about 100 kilograms (kg) each have been taken for test work that will set parameters for a small-scale production study, including ammonium sulphate reduction tests designed to use saline Boland groundwater and reduce consumption of higher-cost ammonium nitrate, pH control to manage natural acid generation and impurities, and crude product precipitation for transport. 

Preliminary engineering and process modelling are complete for a small-scale production plant at the existing Boland wellfield, with first production targeted for the first half of 2027. The design combines the in situ recovery (ISR) field trial with the government-backed pilot facilities at the Australian Nuclear Science and Technology Organisation (ANSTO), allowing up to four wellfields to trial natural acid generation, pH control, sequential recovery, and remediation. The study is designed to produce 400 to 600 kg of Mixed Rare Earth Oxides as an intermediate product, which will be sent to ANSTO for dissolution, impurity removal, cerium suppression, and precipitation, with the field component running about 60 days.   

Permitting Pathway 

Cobra has fulfilled regulatory guidelines for a baseline hydrological assessment and engaged JBS&G Environmental Consultants and Rendement Consulting to advance permitting and secure approvals for the small-scale production demonstration. The demonstration is intended to build confidence in the project's techno-economics and support a move toward bankable feasibility.   

Managing Director of Cobra Resources, Rupert Verco, is direct about the regulatory setting:

"We are fortunate to be working with the South Australian Regulators, a jurisdiction familiar with, and encouraging of, in situ recovery to obtain necessary permitting for small-scale production which will support high-confidence economic modelling and help to progress offtake discussions." 

Next Steps

Cobra is advancing both the Wudinna rare earth project and the Manna Hill copper project, with several milestones at Wudinna targeted in the coming months, beginning with the maiden resource estimate and the subsequent scoping study. Permitting work for the small-scale production demonstration continues in parallel.

Verco frames the project's trajectory: 

"From discovery a little over two years ago, the project is now on the pathway to production."

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