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The Tharsis Property
Carbonatite-Hosted Rare Earth Elements
The Tharsis Project
Rare Earth Elements
The Tharsis project is an 8,750 hectare project in the Northwest Territories that was acquired by Voyageur Exploration in 2021, and transferred to the Northern Critical Minerals Corporation in 2023.
The site is located 170 kilometers north-northeast from the capital city of Yellowknife, and 55 kilometers southeast from the community of Wekweètì. The Allende rare earth project is found 78 kilometers to the southwest. Access to Tharsis can be performed year-round by helicopter; in the summer by floatplane; or, in the winter by skiplane. There is anticipated to be enough room for an ice-strip to be constructed on Squalus Lake to support a Dash 7 aircraft landing in the winter.
The commodities on the project include rare earth elements (REEs) and high field strength elements (HFSEs). The project price basket is primarily composed of the light rare earth oxides (LREOs) neodymium and praseodymium; the heavy rare earth oxides (HREOs) terbium and dysprosium; and the high field strength oxides (HFSOs) niobium and hafnium.
The main feature of the Tharsis property is the Squalus Lake Alkaline Complex (SLAC) – a concentric syenite intrusion that hosts mineralized-carbonatite which is elevated in rare earth and high field strength elements. Discovered prior to Voyageur Exploration's acquisition, the presence of carbonatite was first reported by early explorers who observed it in both outcrop and angular boulders. It is hypothesized that a carbonatite body under Squalus Lake could be equivalent to the Sokli level, such that any overlying carbonatite, breccia, and layered tuff above the dotted line has eroded away since deposition approximately two billion years ago. We believe our mineralized samples from beyond the shoreline are from outward radiating cone sheets and ring dikes that extend from the main centralized body of alkaline magma with a carbonatite core. This hypothesis is supported by evidence of highly anomalous magnetism occurring at the site, which was originally detected by a regional airborne geophysical survey in 1962.
A local ground-based geophysical survey performed in 2001 investigated the anomalous magnetism at Squalus Lake. There they discovered that magnetic trends under the waterbody could be traced for several thousand meters along Squalus Lake, and that a partial-ring of anomalously high magnetism outlined a centralized area of low magnetism. The significance of the magnetic pattern is due to the similarity with observations at the mineralized Oka Carbonatite Complex in Quebec, and suggests the areas of low magnetism at Squalus Lake represents the core of the complex – a priority target for drill testing mineralization.
The SLAC was officially mapped in 1991 and claimed by a single prospector who then held the mineral exploration rights for nearly three decades. Since the claims lapsed, the subsequent acquisition by Voyageur Exploration is only the second time an entity has had the right to explore the complex, and we believe this presents investors with a unique opportunity to grow with one of the closest rare earth element complexes to the Nechalacho Mine – the only operating rare earth element mine in Canada.
In 2021, Voyageur Exploration compiled historical data and reprocessed the ground-based geophysical survey into a 3D inversion model. Furthermore, we performed a field program that focused on locating the mineralized zones sampled by the previous owner, and replicating assay results that were reported. A QEMSCAN analysis was later performed by the Saskatchewan Research Council (SRC) on a hand sample that was collected by Voyageur Exploration during the field program, which indicated that the rare earth elements are primarily hosted in the mineral bastnasite. This is a very encouraging result, given that bastnaesite is often a principal ore mineral for rare earth mines around the world.
In 2022, Voyageur Exploration filed for a land use permit with the government of the Northwest Territories, and received a 5-year approval to perform drilling program on the Tharsis project. Furthermore, a partnership with Axiom Exploration allowed a drone-based magnetic geophysical survey to be completed, which completed the previously partial-ring of magnetism that was first discovered in 2001. This geophysical program extended our understanding about the size of the structure, resulting in an expansion of the property size through the recent acquisition of additional claims.
We are seeking financial partners to advance the Tharsis project
This project is ready for exploratory drilling next winter. Investors are invited to submit a request to access the Data Room, which contains all the information needed to perform a due-diligence investigation.