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Critical metals exploration and development company MetalsGrove Mining Limited (ASX: MGA), (“MetalsGrove” “MGA” or the “Company”), is pleased to report a recently completed aeromagnetic and surface geochemistry program has highlighted a 1,000m X 600m intrusive system (Refer Figures 1 and 2) considered highly prospective for rare earth element (REE) mineralisation at the Bruce Prospect.
Highlights:
- Recently completed aeromagnetic and surface geochemistry work has identified a 1,000m X 600m intrusive system considered highly prospective for rare earth element (REE) mineralisation.
- Sampling has shown a significantly high proportion of yttrium (258ppm, 45% of total REO).
- High proportion of NdPr (21% of total REO), similar to the other NdPr projects including Mount Weld (Lynas ASX: LYC), Ngualla (Peak ASX: PEK) and Nolan’s Bore (Arafura ASX: AUR).
- Sampling comparisons of the rare earth distributions with other key projects in the Arunta region - namely Brown’s Range and Nolan’s Bore.
- Maiden RC drilling programme will commence this quarter to test the broad conductor and large intrusive system within the Bruce prospect.
The Bruce Prospect is located within the Company’s Arunta Project, north of Alice Springs in the Northern Territory.
Previous work completed within the Arunta Project has confirmed the presence of REE anomalism associated with Cu-Au and base metal mineralisation.
As previously reported (see ASX release dated 20th July 2022), MetalsGrove has identified a broad conductor along strike from the Plenty River mine which has not been tested to date. The recently completed aeromagnetic, radiometric and geochemical data has been processed and overlaid by Intrepid Geophysics to identify and refine new drilling targets for testing in Q2 CY 2023.
Commenting on the large-scale anomaly at the Bruce Prospect, MetalsGrove’s Managing Director, Sean Sivasamy said:
“We are very encouraged by the outcomes from our pre-drilling exploration work at the Bruce Prospect which has provided a much clearer insight into the mineralised system we are targeting.
The comparisons of the rare earth distributions with other projects in the Arunta region - namely Brown’s Range and Nolan’s Bore - are very encouraging and follow up drilling is planned to commence later this quarter. Our Phase 1 drilling will commence at these priority targets within Bruce and this will be followed by drilling at the Box Hole and Edwards Creek Prospects.
I would also like to thank the station owners within our Arunta Project, along with the traditional owners Huckitta Aboriginal Corporation and Ingkekure Aboriginal Corporation of the project area for assisting with getting this programme completed on time. I look forward to providing further updates as we near the commencement of drilling at Arunta.”
Surface Rock Chip Sampling Review at Bruce
Rare earth projects can typically be divided up into various categories, depending on the quantity and ratio of rare earths that they contain. Table 1 shows a select few rare earth projects. Rare earth projects tend to be defined according to the REE they contain that will give the most value to the project. For example, Ngualla and Nolan’s Bore are NdPr projects as it will be the neodymium and praseodymium that give the most value. Browns Range contains significant dysprosium (640ppm) and yttrium (4,330ppm, 57% of total REO) and is considered a heavy rare earth project (the HREO is 88% of total REO). Mount Weld is a high grade rare earth deposit (8.6% REO in the Ore Reserve); much of the grade is driven by the low-value lanthanum and cerium, however, it is the NdPr (19,500ppm) and dysprosium (338ppm) that will be key value drivers.
The two highest grade rock chip assays have been added to the base of Table 1 as a comparison with the other project types. Sample BS02 has a significantly high proportion of yttrium (258ppm, 45% of total REO) and dysprosium is also elevated (44ppm). These proportions are comparable to Brown’s Range. Sample BS04 showed similar ratios but had a low overall grade (114ppm, Table 2).
Sample B08 has a relatively high proportion of NdPr (21% of total REO), similar to the NdPr projects Mount Weld, Ngualla and Nolan’s Bore. The ratios of all the rock chips above 100ppm TREO are shown in Table 2 and a high proportion of MREO to TREO is consistent throughout the rock chips.
The rare earth elements composition for the two highest grade rock chips are compared to the average abundance of rare earths for granite in Table 3. The heavy rare earths in Sample BS02 are several times the expected background.
The comparison of the rare earth distributions with other projects in the Arunta region (namely Brown’s Range and Nolan’s Bore) are encouraging and follow up drilling will commence Q2 CY2023.
Table 1: Rare earth grades and ratios for select rare earth projects and the grades and ratios in the Metals Grove rock chips and Norwest drilling for comparison.
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This article includes content from MetalsGrove Mining Limited, licensed for the purpose of publishing on Investing News Australia. This article does not constitute financial product advice. It is your responsibility to perform proper due diligence before acting upon any information provided here. Please refer to our full disclaimer here.
CuFe Acquires West Arunta Tenure with Exciting Geophysical Targets
HIGHLIGHTS
- CuFe acquires E80/6052, located 13km north-east of existing tenure expanding its position in the emerging West Arunta Niobium province to over 281 km².
- Geophysical review of 3D inversion modelling magnetic data over new tenure has identified two prospective targets within E80/6052.
- Land Access agreement negotiations ongoing, with the Parna Ngururrpa Traditional Owners Group to facilitate the commencement of on-ground works.
CuFe Executive Director, Mark Hancock, commented“We are pleased to acquire new ground in the exciting West Arunta region. This acquisition gives us an additional target area that shows the right geophysical characteristics to represent carbonatites / intrusive bodies. The tenement has synergies with our existing landholding and there has been very little exploration undertaken in this area historically. We continue to work with Parna Ngururrpa Traditional Owners Group in aim of securing a heritage and land access agreement, which is required to commence on ground works given the tenure is located with an Aboriginal Reserve area.”
Acquisition Details
CuFe has entered a binding agreement to acquire exploration application E80/6052 from an unrelated entity, Territory Prospecting Pty Ltd. The terms of purchase comprise an upfront payment of $10,000 cash and $25,000 in CuFe shares at an issue price of 1.6c per share (1,562,500 shares). Upon the later of the grant of the tenure or the execution of heritage agreement a further payment is due of $50,000, to be made in cash.
Tenure Update
The new tenement is located 13km North-East of CuFe’s West Arunta Project and 18km North-East of Lycaon Resources Stansmore Nb-REE Project (Figure 1). The tenure is on land of the Parna Ngururrpa Traditional Owners Group and exploration requires the consent of the Minister of Aboriginal Affairs. The tenement covers an area of 64km², this has increased CuFe’s tenement holding from 217km² to 281km² (See Figure 1).
The tenement was previously held by CRA Ltd in the early nineties who were pursuing the geophysical target as a potential kimberlite pipe however no exploration on ground was undertaken.
Figure 1 – New Tenement acquisition E80/6052.
The Company further advises that wo of its three previous tenement applications E80/5925 and E80/5950 have been granted by the Department of Energy, Mines, Industry Regulation, and Safety (DEMIRS) on 30 May 2024 and 4 June 2024 respectively, with the third expected to proceed to grant within the next month. The granted tenure covers an area of 58 km² and forms part of the Company’s 100% owned West Arunta Project in the highly prospective West Arunta region (Figure 1).
On ground exploration activities are restricted until a signed agreement is in place with the Parna Ngurrurrpa Traditional Owners Group and approval is given by the Minster of Aboriginal Affairs. CuFe continues to work with the group on achieving this.
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This article includes content from CUFE LTD, licensed for the purpose of publishing on Investing News Australia. This article does not constitute financial product advice. It is your responsibility to perform proper due diligence before acting upon any information provided here. Please refer to our full disclaimer here.
High Grade Iron Rock Chip Results at Robinson Range – Bryah Basin
HIGHLIGHTS
- High grade iron enrichment identified on CuFe Bryah Basin Tenement E52/1613.
- Early-stage reconnaissance field work yields rock chip assays up to 60.63% Fe with low impurities.
- Corridor of surface supergene enrichment of Banded Iron Formation identified that has the potential to extend for 1.2km strike length.
- Full field mapping and rock chip program planned later this quarter.
CuFe Executive Director, Mark Hancock, commented“Following a review of our Bryah Basin package we have identified prospectivity for Iron Ore within E52/1613 located along the Robinson Range. Our first partial reconnaissance of the tenement has identified a pod of enrichment that is supported by high grade Fe rock chips and further illustrates the breadth of opportunity our exploration portfolio that CuFe shareholders have exposure to.
Although this is not the highest priority within our portfolio (where the focus is on exploration targets for future facing minerals including copper at Tennant Creek, lithium at North Dam and niobium in the West Arunta), we will follow up with more mapping and sampling along strike to further test the potential and to identify drill targets. The project logistics are favourable and offer potential for the style of low Capex DSO project we have experience in developing and executing.”
Tenement Overview
The CuFe Bryah Basin Project includes a package of tenements under various joint ventures and farm-ins, with a primary focus on the potential for gold and copper mineralisation. During a strategic review of the tenure CuFe identified that tenement E52/1613 has the potential for iron ore hosted within the Banded Iron Formation of the Robinson Range. E52/1613 is 100% owned by CuFe’s subsidiary Jackson Minerals following the withdrawal of the tenement from the Auris Minerals Ltd JV in the March 24 quarter.
The tenement covers an area of 34km² and is located approximately 95km north of the township of Meekatharra and 630km east of the Port of Geraldton, in the Midwest / Murchison Region of Western Australia (Figure 1). The Great Northern Highway passes 10km to the south, and the Ashburton Downs- Meekatharra Road passes 15km to the west of the tenement. Several roads and pastoral station tracks extend from these major transport routes and provide excellent access to the project area.
Figure 1: E52/1613 Location – Bryah Basin.
Local Geology and Iron Mineralisation
The project area and more extensively the Robinson Range Formation lies within Bryah-Padbury Basin which is part of the Proterozoic Capricorn Orogenic Belt lying between the Pilbara and Yilgarn Archaean Cratons. The Robinson Range Formation occurs toward the upper part of the Palaeoproterozoic Padbury Group. It contains Banded Iron Formations (BIF) and hematitic shales outcropping within the Robinson Range syncline with its axis trending east-west over an approximate strike length of 30km. The BIF thicknesses are variable along strike and range from less than 50m and up to 400-500m as reported1. The BIF’s are well represented by regional and local scale airborne magnetic images. Supergene enrichment along the BIF outcrop, producing hematite and goethite, ranges in Fe content from as low as 50% to 65% Fe (See Figure 2).
Sinosteel Midwest Group have reported three resources Raven, Raven North and Sparrow with a combined total of 9.3Mt at 56% Fe and 0.07% P. Within this the Raven North deposit is reported at 3.6Mt @ 59.03% Fe and 0.09% P. Recent success by Alchemy Resources (ASX:ALY) on 31st May 2024 reported high grade Fe rock chips from the Valley Bore prospect located 21km to the east along the range from E52/1613.
Click here for the full ASX Release
This article includes content from CUFE LTD, licensed for the purpose of publishing on Investing News Australia. This article does not constitute financial product advice. It is your responsibility to perform proper due diligence before acting upon any information provided here. Please refer to our full disclaimer here.
