Highlights

  • Cobra Resources reported favourable rare earth metallurgy results from the Head Prospect area.
  • Testing indicates the Head Prospect could support scalable in-situ recovery beyond Boland
  • The Head Prospect sits within an 85 square kilometre palaeochannel target south of Boland.
  • Planned step-out drilling at the Head Prospect is scheduled to commence in March 2026

Cobra Resources plc (LSE:COBR) which has delivered a one-year return of 273.91%, has recorded 4.73% rise in its share to GBX 4.65 on 4 February 2026. The share performance follows the press release outlining favourable metallurgical test results from the Head Prospect, a priority target within its Boland Project area in South Australia. The results are based on diagnostic leach testing of historical pulp samples and indicate potential scalability for low-cost in-situ recovery (ISR) of ionic rare earth elements beyond the core Boland discovery.

The Head Prospect forms part of recently acquired tenements from Tri-Star Group Pty Ltd, completed in January 2026. These tenements cover extensive palaeochannel-hosted rare earth mineralisation located south of the Boland Project and are considered geologically similar to areas already tested at Boland.

Diagnostic Metallurgy Shows Comparable Recoveries

Tests were conducted on composite samples sourced from the Pidinga Formation, a palaeochannel unit known for hosting permeable clays and sands. A composite derived from historical drillholes IR275 and IR276 returned a total rare earth oxide grade of 977 parts per million, including neodymium, praseodymium, dysprosium and terbium.

At a pH3 0.5M ammonium sulphate solution, recoveries reached 48% neodymium, 47% praseodymium, 52% dysprosium and 54% terbium. These recoveries were reported to be materially higher than those achieved from nearby saprolite and weathered granite samples, where rare earth elements are less mobile due to mineral binding.

The diagnostic work was carried out by ANSTO Laboratories using retained pulp samples originally drilled in 1980. While sample age may influence ionic behaviour, benchmarking against local source rocks was used to highlight the relative effectiveness of palaeochannel-hosted material.

Large Target Area and Upcoming Drilling

The Head Prospect covers an interpreted area of approximately 85 square kilometres within the Yaninee Palaeochannel, located around 20 kilometres south of the Boland Project. Geological interpretation suggests the area represents a fluvial flood facies with characteristics supportive of ISR techniques.

Cobra has confirmed that planning and land access negotiations are underway to enable step-out, resource-focused drilling at the Head Prospect. Drilling is expected to commence in March 2026, targeting extensions around historical intersections that previously returned elevated total rare earth oxide grades.

Investor Context

The update places emphasis on metallurgy rather than resource size, highlighting recoverability as a key factor in evaluating palaeochannel-hosted rare earth projects. The results suggest that Cobra’s broader tenement position, spanning more than 3,200 kilometres of prospective geology, may host multiple zones with comparable recovery characteristics.