What Makes Halleck Creek Different?
American Rare Earths CEO Mark Wall joined Steve Darling from Proactive to announce the start of the company’s 2026 exploration drilling program at the Cowboy State Mine within the Halleck Creek Rare Earths Project in Wyoming. The new campaign represents the beginning of feasibility-level drilling designed to support advancement toward a Definitive Feasibility Study (DFS) at what is believed to be the largest known rare earth deposit in the United States based on total rare earth oxide content.
Wall explained that the program is intended to establish the geological, geotechnical, and engineering foundation necessary for future mine planning and reserve development. The company plans to complete approximately 3,050 metres of HQ core drilling across 19 drill holes focused on the Red Mountain area of the project. Drilling officially commenced on May 13, 2026, and is expected to continue through mid-July.
According to the company, the program is anticipated to generate approximately 1,045 core samples for laboratory assay testing. Remaining core material will be preserved for additional technical work, including geotechnical, hydrological, environmental, and metallurgical studies that will contribute to the DFS process and future mine design considerations.
American Rare Earths also noted that all drill holes will undergo detailed geophysical logging, including optical and acoustic televiewer surveys where appropriate. These studies are expected to support advanced geomechanical analysis and provide important data related to rock structure, stability, and engineering requirements for potential future mining operations.
Nine of the planned core holes are positioned on the top of Red Mountain and are specifically targeting higher-grade mineralized zones expected to contribute to the first five years of planned production, as outlined in the Cowboy State Mine pre-feasibility study pit shells. The company said these holes are designed to support future ore reserve estimation and improve confidence in the early-stage mine plan as work progresses toward the DFS.
An additional ten core holes will be drilled around the base of Red Mountain, where previous channel sampling and recent geological mapping identified areas of potentially higher-grade mineralization. Management believes these holes could help further define and expand mineralized zones while improving the company’s understanding of the broader deposit geometry and continuity.