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MTM Critical Metals Limited (ASX:MTM) (MTM or the Company) has received assay results from a recent program of aircore drilling completed to test rare earth element (REE) anomalies at the Pt Kidman prospect, part of the East Laverton Project in the north Eastern Goldfields of Western Australia (Figure 1).
Highlights:
- Drilling results confirm that the broad REE mineralisation at the Pt Kidman prospect extends far beyond previously known zones.
- Higher grade drilling intersections include:
- 29m @ 1,667ppm TREO
- 29m @ 2,116ppm TREO
- 12m @ 2,564ppm TREO
- 11m @ 2,753ppm TREO
- 4m @ 3,400ppm TREO inc. 1m @ 8,752ppm TREO
- Mineralised envelopes with drill intercepts exceeding 1,000ppm TREO now identified over approximately 12km2
- Mineralisation contains a significant proportion of valuable heavy, magnet and critical rare earth oxides over thick intervals up to 29m, including:
- High value Nd+Pr oxides represent an average of 19.5% of TREO grade
- High value magnet rare earth oxides represent an average 24.4% of TREO grade
- Critical rare earth oxides (CREO) average 21.7% of TREO grade
- Heavy rare earth oxides represent an average of 11.4% of TREO grade
- Drilling confirms continuity of clay-hosted mineralisation over large areas
- Large areas still remain untested and are interpreted to be prospective for similar mineralisation occurrences
- Preliminary metallurgical testwork and mineralisation characterisation to be undertaken
Results have greatly increased the known extent of shallow clay-hosted REE mineralisation and confirm that the mineralisation contains a significant proportion of valuable heavy, magnet and critical rare earth oxides.
Figure 1: Location Map of Prospects at the East Laverton Project
The Company has previously reported assay results for drilling at Pt Kidman (see MTM ASX announcement dated 18 August 2022 and 17 November 2022) which highlighted broad zones of shallow, flat-laying clay-hosted REE mineralisation.
Regarding the latest results from the Pt Kidman prospect, Managing Director Lachlan Reynolds commented:
“These latest drilling results have greatly extended the known zone of clay-hosted rare earth element mineralisation in the northern part of the East Laverton project. The drilling intersections validate the positive soil geochemical anomalies we had already defined and confirm that we are dealing with a highly prospective area.
As we had previously seen in aircore drilling, the rare earth elements occur in a very broad, shallow and continuous zone of shallow mineralisation, in some cases from surface. The presence of thick zones of higher-grade mineralisation, up to 30 metres, gives us great encouragement that the Pt Kidman prospect area has the potential to contain a resource with a significant proportion of high value NdPr and critical rare earth oxides.
Our exploration team is keen to extend the soil sampling coverage within our tenements and we fully expect to define further areas for drill testing. We are also planning to complete preliminary metallurgical test work on the drilling samples to understand the nature and potential processing options for the mineralisation.
More drilling is also required to home-in on the best parts of the system and our objective is to make a new rare earth deposit discovery.”
The Pt Kidman area has been confirmed as a large-scale, rare earth element opportunity at East Laverton. The current drilling program extends the known part of the prospective terrane and has shown significant continuity and grade within the mineralised zone within the regolith.
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This article includes content from MTM Critical Metals, 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 Massive Sulphide Intercepts Confirmed at Oval
HIGHLIGHTS:
- OVD027 confirms the continution of high grade massive sulphide from OVD0211 with an intercept of 6.1 metres of 4.16% Cu, 3.51% Ni, 0.G3g/t E3, and 0.13% Co from G8.2 metres encountered between broader high grade zones of:
- A dense disseminated intercept - 26.2 metres of 0.44% Cu, 0.52% Ni, 0.12g/t E3, and 0.03% Co from 72.0 metres and
- A net textured intercept - 15.3 metres of 1.15% Cu, 0.79% Ni, 0.35g/t E3, and 0.04% Co from 104.3 metres;
- A high grade broad intersection is confirmed at the central part of the Oval area by OVD026. It includes a massive sulphide intercept in hole OVD026 of 1.8 metres of 3.21% Cu, 3.32% Ni, 0.6Gg/t E3, and 0.14% Co from 105.0 metres within broader mineralisation of:
- 19.8 metres of 1.23% Cu, 0.98% Ni, 0.36g/t E3, and 0.05% Co from 91.2 metres.
OVD026 is located 100 metres northwest of the previously announced 8.8 metres of massive sulphide identified in drillhole OVD021.
On completion of the Phase 2 exploration work and receipt of all assays, Managing Director Gan-Ochir Zunduisuren, commented:“The 2024 Phase 1 and 2 drilling and exploration programs have confirmed the broad presence of high-grade mineralisation in the Oval gabbroic intrusion. The grades intercepted in some of the drillholes are exceptional and may be indicative of broader potential over a larger area, given Oval is a greenfields discovery.
The 2025 exploration program will focus on obtaining information on the size/metal content potential of the Oval Cu-Ni-PGE mineral system as well as targeting the possible deeper magmatic sources at Oval. Broader exploration is also planned at potential extensions of Oval and nearby look-a-like prospects. We look forward to updating shareholders on progress, with drilling expected to commence in around 8 weeks”.
Summary of Phase 2 exploration drilling at Oval Cu-Ni-PGE project
The Company’s recent drilling work has predominantly focused on finding high-grade mineralisation in the olivine-amphibole gabbro at the Oval project. The multiple intercepts of massive sulphide mineralisation with different ratios of metal contents throughout the Oval gabbroic intrusion is highly encouraging for the presence of one or more deeper sources of high grade mineralisation in the opinion of ABM.
Figure 1. Plan view of drillhole locations on high resolution magnetics map (RTP)
Drillhole OVD02c
Drillhole OVD026 was designed to test the Down-Hole Electromagnetic (DHEM) conductor plate identified as OVD007_L2_B (reinterpretation of OVD007_L2_A2 by Southern Geoscience Consultants), which exhibits a conductance of 1,000 siemens. The drilling intersected a total of 1G.8 metres of mineralisation with 1.23% Cu, 0.G8% Ni, 0.36g/t E3, and 0.05% Co from G1.2 metres including;
- 4.8 metres of @ 0.45% Cu, 0.43% of Ni, 0.14g/t E3, and 0.02% Co of dense disseminated mineralised gabbro from 91.2 metres,
- 6.6 metres of @ 1.56% Cu, 0.G0% Ni, 0.50g/t E3, and 0.04% Co of net textured mineralisation from G6.0 metres,
- 2.4 metres of @ 1.52% Cu, 1.3G% Ni, 0.43g/t E3, and 0.07% Co of semi massive sulphide mineralisation from 102.6 metres,
- 1.8 metres of @ 3.21% Cu, 3.32% Ni, 0.6Gg/t E3, and 0.14% Co of massive sulphide mineralisation from 105.0 metres, and
- 4.2 metres of @ 0.57% Cu, 0.45% of Ni, 0.21g/t E3, and 0.02% Co of dense disseminated mineralised gabbro from 106.9 metres (Table 1 provides a detailed breakdown of mineralisation intervals).
OVD026 is located in the Oval area, which is approximately 100 metres northwest of the previous intersection identified in drillhole OVD0213. This intercept may represent an extension of the known massive sulphide mineralisation in the Oval area and highlights the potential for further expansion of massive sulphide zones within the broader prospect area (Figures 1 and 3).
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This article includes content from Asian Battery Metals PLC, 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.
