Rimfire Pacific Mining Secures 60% Stake in Avondale Scandium Project

Rimfire Pacific Mining Secures Majority Stake in Scandium-Rich Avondale Project

Rimfire Pacific Mining (ASX: RIM) has announced a significant ownership milestone, confirming it will hold a 60% controlling interest in the Avondale Project in New South Wales. This follows its exploration partner Golden Plains Resources (GPR) electing to vest a 40% interest under the terms of the existing Avondale Earn-In Agreement. The move establishes a formal unincorporated joint venture, with Rimfire appointed as Manager — placing the company firmly in the driver's seat of one of Australia's most compelling scandium project clusters.

What Just Happened — and Why It Matters

Under the Earn-In Agreement between Rimfire and GPR, GPR had been working toward earning a stake in the Avondale Project by meeting certain expenditure obligations. GPR has now given notice of its intent to vest its 40% interest, which will formally transfer once those expenditure conditions are satisfied. The outcome is a joint venture structure where:

• Rimfire holds 60% and assumes the role of Manager
• GPR holds 40%
• Both parties will fund future work programmes on a pro rata basis

This is a straightforward but strategically meaningful outcome. The Rimfire Pacific Mining Avondale Project 60% stake joint venture transitions the company from sole explorer to majority manager of a project sitting in the heart of Australia's most concentrated scandium district.

The Avondale Project — A Scandium Inventory of Scale

The Avondale Project is located in the Fifield District of central NSW, approximately 70 km northwest of Parkes, and sits adjacent to two of Australia's most prominent scandium deposits owned by major listed companies:

• Rio Tinto's (ASX: RIO) Burra Scandium Deposit
• Sunrise Energy Metals' (ASX: SRL) Syerston Scandium Deposit

This geographic positioning is not incidental. The Fifield District has established itself as Australia's scandium epicentre, and Avondale sits squarely within it.

The project hosts a meaningful and growing scandium resource inventory across multiple deposits and prospects:

The northwestern portion of the Murga Scandium Deposit — the largest single deposit in the inventory at 12 Kt Sc Oxide — lies within the Avondale Project boundary, adding considerable weight to the overall resource picture.

Combined with Melrose and Currajong, the Avondale Project hosts multiple resource-stage scandium deposits, with additional exploration upside through the Kars, Forest View, and Kara Kara prospects.

Resource Confirmation

The Murga, Currajong, and Melrose Mineral Resource estimates were previously reported by Rimfire via ASX announcements dated 13 April 2026, 20 October 2025, and 9 September 2024 respectively. Rimfire has confirmed that no new information has emerged that materially affects those estimates, and all material assumptions and technical parameters continue to apply.

Understanding Scandium — A Primer for Investors

What Is Scandium and Why Does It Matter?

Scandium (Sc) is a rare transition metal that, whilst not widely known, has highly specific and commercially valuable applications — most notably as an alloying agent in aluminium-scandium alloys. When added to aluminium in small quantities, scandium dramatically improves strength, weldability, and corrosion resistance, making it attractive for:

• Aerospace and defence components
• Lightweight electric vehicle structures
• Solid oxide fuel cells (SOFCs), where scandium-stabilised zirconia is a key electrolyte material

Scandium is produced in very limited quantities globally, and supply is geographically concentrated — making new, well-located deposits strategically interesting to downstream manufacturers seeking supply chain security.

Scandium Oxide (Sc₂O₃) is the standard commercial form in which scandium is measured and traded. Resource estimates expressed in kilotonnes (Kt) of Sc Oxide give investors a sense of the scale of mineralisation within a deposit.

Key Terms for Investors

• Sc₂O₃ (Scandium Oxide): The oxidised form of scandium, used as the benchmark unit for scandium resource reporting and commercial transactions.
• Earn-In Agreement: A contractual arrangement where one party can acquire an interest in a project by spending an agreed amount on exploration over a defined period.
• Unincorporated Joint Venture (UJV): A partnership structure where two or more parties share ownership and costs in a project without forming a separate legal entity.
• Pro Rata Funding: Each joint venture party contributes to costs in proportion to their ownership interest.
• JORC Resource: A mineral resource estimate prepared in accordance with the Australasian Code for Reporting of Exploration Results, Mineral Resources and Ore Reserves — the industry standard in Australia.
• Competent Person: A suitably qualified and experienced professional authorised under the JORC Code to sign off on resource estimates and exploration results.

Rimfire's Broader Footprint in the Fifield District

It is important for investors to understand that the Avondale Project is distinct from Rimfire's Fifield Project, which the company also holds in the same district. Together, these two projects give Rimfire a substantial and strategically coherent landholding in what is effectively the most densely resourced scandium corridor in Australia.

Furthermore, the Fifield District positioning places Rimfire alongside globally significant mining companies with declared interests in the region, reinforcing the geological quality and commercial relevance of the area.

What Comes Next — Joint Venture and Future Work Programmes

With the Rimfire Pacific Mining Avondale Project 60% stake joint venture structure now being formalised, the immediate priorities centre on:

1. Satisfaction of GPR's expenditure obligations — the formal trigger for the 40% vesting and JV establishment
2. Rimfire assuming the Manager role — giving Rimfire operational control and strategic direction over exploration and development activities
3. Agreement on joint work programmes — future exploration and resource development activities to be funded pro rata by both parties
4. Continued evaluation of the Kars, Forest View, and Kara Kara prospects — these remain at exploration stage and represent organic upside within the existing project boundary

The JV structure with pro rata funding also means Rimfire's capital commitments on the project will be shared, providing some financial flexibility as programmes are designed and executed.

The Investment Case — Majority Control of a Scandium District Asset

Several elements of this announcement reinforce the broader investment thesis for Rimfire Pacific Mining.

1. Majority Ownership With Operational Control

Securing 60% and the Manager role means Rimfire sets the agenda. Exploration priorities, work programme timing, and strategic decisions rest with Rimfire's management team.

2. Proximity to Established, Major-Company Deposits

Being adjacent to Rio Tinto's Burra and Sunrise Energy Metals' Syerston deposits is a meaningful endorsement of the district's geological prospectivity. The presence of these large, well-capitalised companies in the same corridor provides independent validation of the scandium mineralisation style and scale.

3. A Growing, Multi-Deposit Resource Base

The combination of Melrose, Currajong, and the Murga (NW portion) deposits gives Avondale a layered resource profile across multiple mineralised zones, with additional undrilled prospects yet to be tested.

4. Exploration Upside Within Existing Boundaries

Kars, Forest View, and Kara Kara represent genuine exploration optionality — particularly the gold-copper potential at Kara Kara, which diversifies the project's commodity exposure.

5. Experienced Management With Direct Technical Oversight

Managing Director and CEO David Hutton, who also serves as the designated JORC Competent Person for this announcement, brings over 30 years of minerals industry experience and holds direct accountability for the technical integrity of the project's resource base.

As Managing Director and CEO, David Hutton oversees both the strategic direction and technical validation of Rimfire's exploration programmes. His role as Competent Person ensures direct accountability for the quality and accuracy of all resource reporting across the company's portfolio.

Strategic Implications for the Scandium Sector

The Rimfire Pacific Mining Avondale Project 60% stake joint venture comes at a time when scandium supply chains are receiving increased attention from aerospace and clean energy manufacturers. Australia's position as home to several advanced scandium projects — including those held by Rio Tinto and Sunrise Energy Metals in the same district — underscores the country's strategic importance in global scandium supply.

In addition, the establishment of multiple resource-stage deposits within the Fifield District creates the potential for shared infrastructure development, processing synergies, and coordinated development approaches that could benefit all operators in the region.

Investment Monitoring Points

Near-term catalysts for investors to monitor include:

• Formalisation of the joint venture following satisfaction of GPR's expenditure obligations
• Development of the inaugural joint work programme and associated budget allocation
• Exploration updates from Kars, Forest View, and Kara Kara prospects as drilling programmes progress
• Resource estimate updates as additional exploration data becomes available
• District-level developments from Rio Tinto and Sunrise Energy Metals that may impact the broader Fifield scandium corridor

Longer-term considerations include potential consolidation opportunities within the district, infrastructure sharing arrangements, and the progression of any of the three resource-stage deposits toward feasibility studies.

Why Investors Should Watch Rimfire Pacific Mining

The announcement represents a clear strategic progression for Rimfire Pacific Mining. The company has transitioned from explorer to majority joint venture manager of a multi-deposit scandium project in Australia's premier scandium district.

The Rimfire Pacific Mining Avondale Project 60% stake joint venture structure provides operational control whilst sharing development costs, creating a financially sustainable pathway toward resource expansion and potential development studies.

With established JORC resources at three separate deposits, additional exploration prospects within the existing project boundary, and positioning adjacent to major company deposits, Avondale represents a compelling scandium asset under experienced management.

For investors tracking critical minerals exposure, Rimfire's portfolio now offers direct participation in what may become one of Australia's most significant scandium development corridors — with the operational flexibility that comes from majority ownership and management control.

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