Chalice West Drilling Update: Rare Earth Results

Auric Mining Limited (ASX: AWJ) (Auric or the Company) is pleased to provide further detail following the completion of drilling at the Company’s Chalice West Project near Higginsville-Widgiemooltha, Western Australia. The drilling program was completed on 22 November 2022 with 227 aircore drill holes drilled for 7,227m (Figure 1).

Highlights of this Announcement

• Highly anomalous one-metre regolith interval at 1.1 wt.% TREO (22% MREO) with only 139 ppm phosphorous.
  
• One 17-metre interval from 4 metre below surface at 1,699 ppm TREO (21% MREO).
• Magnetic granite from bottom-of-hole samples has up to 1,595 ppm TREO (28% MREO).
• Anomalous REE values coincide with linear 7 kilometre long NW-trending magnetic feature.

The current results reveal anomalous REE values from regolith and BOH samples with up to 1.1 wt.% TREO (total rare earth oxide). All analyses were performed using 4- acid-digest in order to include nickel, lithium, REE and other metals in the analysis. This method also minimises the digestion of acid-resistant REE minerals such as monazite, that are unlikely to be recovered from REE clays.

Figure 1. Chalice West aircore drill holes at completion of program

Program and Results-to-Date

Hole AAC0279 has a 17-m interval of 1,699 ppm TREO from 4 m below surface with a weighted average MREO (magnetic REO) proportion of 21%. This hole coincides with a deeper weathering profile compared to adjacent holes at the eastern flank of a round ~700 m diameter magnetic feature (Figure 2). On the western flank of the local magnetic anomaly in the deeper weathered sections, hole AAC0286 has 13 m @ 1,351 ppm TREO (20% MREO) from 13 m and hole AAC0285 has 8 m @ 885 ppm TREO (22% MREO) from 13 m (Figure 3). Holes collared above the round magnetic feature (AAC0280–AAC0284) largely drilled transported material and had blade refusal depths of 2–10 m (Figure 3). Refer to Appendix A for a table of significant results received to date and detail on intercept aggregation methods.

The high-grade interval (1.1. wt.% TREO) in hole AAC0239 (42–43 m) is unlikely “ionic clay” due to low Al (8.1 wt.%) and K (0.38 wt.%) concentrations and limited adsorption capacity of clays in general. The same applies to the high-grade interval in hole AAC0279 (17–18 m) with 0.49 wt.% TREO and low Al (1.8 wt.%) and K (0.07 wt.%) concentrations. However, for both intervals P values are below 170 ppm, suggesting that the acid-resistant mineral monazite (REEPO4) is not responsible for the reported REE grades. Metallurgical tests and petrographic studies will determine the leachability and nature of the high-grade REE mineralisation.

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