Mining Stock Daily Apex Critical Metals Exploration Update at the Rift Rare Earth Project
Mar 12, 2026
Joness Lang, EVP of Growth and Strategy at Apex Critical Metals, outlines exploration at the Rift Rare Earth Project. He discusses the expanding drill program and carbonatite core observations. He highlights historical high‑grade holes and timing for assays and permitting. He also covers US critical minerals positioning and potential synergies with nearby projects.
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Phase One Drilling Targeting Historical High Grade Hits
- Apex's phase one drilling aims to verify two historical high-grade rare earth intervals and expand them to enable a resource by year-end or Q1 next year.
- Joness Lang reported the program exceeded 50% of an 8,000m plan with two rigs targeting broad carbonatite-hosted REE intervals like the 1980s Molycorp and 2000s Quantum hits.
Carbonatite Lies 150 To 200 Meters Deep
- Carbonatite mineralization starts roughly 150–200m below surface and appears as long runs in core consistent with a bulk-tonnage style underground deposit.
- The team uses XRF scanning of core and downhole surveys to confirm carbonatite presence and guide future drilling efficiently.
Push Efficient Drilling To Compress Timelines
- Accelerate drilling when operational efficiency allows to potentially finish the program earlier and expand footprint beyond what is needed for a 20Mt conceptual deposit.
- Joness suggested the program could wrap by mid-April instead of early May given current drill rates and hit potential.