Ark Mines is an Australian critical minerals exploration and development company focused on advancing its flagship asset, the Sandy Mitchell Rare Earths and Heavy Minerals Project in North Queensland.
The Sandy Mitchell Project is a large-scale, surface-expressed placer deposit with a unique style of mineralisation among ASX-listed peers. Sandy Mitchell hosts a substantial Mineral Resource Estimate (MRE) and is recognised for its enriched monazite equivalent grades and potential for significant scale.
Ark is progressing the project through key studies and development planning, targeting first production in 2027 while continuing to evaluate opportunities to expand the resource base.
The project comprises a large, near-surface, sand-hosted system with favourable development characteristics. The current MRE stands at 71.8 million tonnes at 1,732.7 ppm monazite equivalent, containing a valuable basket of heavy minerals including monazite, xenotime, zircon, garnet, rutile and ilmenite.
Sandy Mitchell also demonstrates substantial upside, with an exploration target of 1.3 to 1.5 billion tonnes at 1,250 to 1,490 ppm monazite equivalent, highlighting the potential for future resource growth.
The mineral basket provides optionality through both rare earth concentrate production and the recovery of high-value heavy mineral by-products.
Ark has received a $4.5 million investment from the Queensland Investment Corporation’s Critical Minerals and Battery Technology Fund, comprising a mix of royalty-linked funding and equity to support development of the Sandy Mitchell Project.
In addition to rare earths, Ark holds a broader portfolio of tenements prospective for copper, nickel, iron and cobalt, commodities that are essential to electrification and energy transition technologies.
With a focus on project development and growth, Ark Mines aims to become a future supplier of critical minerals to global markets.