ASX-listed Marmota Ltd (ASX: MEU) has fast-tracked metallurgical test work on its Muckanippie titanium discovery in South Australia’s Gawler Craton - an area that has recently become a hotspot for the highly sought-after mineral.
The accelerated effort by Marmota follows what appears to be a major titanium discovery by neighbour Petratherm, which has seen its share price soar an incredible 1500 per cent from just 2c pre-discovery in September to above 30c. This puts Petratherm’s value at about $100 million.
Marmota has now swung into action looking to firm up the prospects of its own titanium discovery having dispatched high-grade samples to ALS Laboratories.
The company is seeking to unlock a potential a game-changing critical minerals discovery to complement its growing gold resources just 50km away.
Marmota also recently confirmed a set of thick, rich titanium dioxide intersections, all from surface, with standout grades exceeding 10 per cent titanium dioxide across four contiguous drill holes spanning some 750m.
The shallow intersections were highlighted by some uber high grades including 28m of mineralisation running 10.1 per cent titanium oxide with a 4m section grading at a jaw-dropping 13.3 per cent.
The company drilled through another 24m, 7.5 per cent intersection immediately adjacent with a 4m slice going some 10.3 per cent.
Notably, Marmota’s Muckanippie discovery is immediately adjoining Petratherm’s titanium project of the same name. Marmota maintains its discovery delivers numbers that outshine its neighbour.
Every hole sunk by Marmota so far has delivered results superior to Petratherm’s best assays in titanium, with Petratherm yet to release its subsequent drilling grade splits for titanium.
Titanium has been designated as a critical mineral by governments worldwide and is in soaring demand for its use in energy storage technologies, surgical implants, semiconductors and pigments.
Marmota says its Muckanippie project is perfectly positioned to tap into the rising market, with the company stating that unlike conventional titanium deposits where processing costs can skyrocket due to deep mineralisation and high iron content, the titanium at Muckanippie appears to be low in iron and highly accessible occurring from the surface.
Metallurgical test work is now underway, including advanced techniques such as heavy liquid separation, x-ray fluorescence and x-ray diffraction to evaluate the heavy mineral concentrates for titanium. Initial results are expected within weeks and management is confident it will soon ben able to confirm the high-value titanium content of its discovery.
The Muckanippie find sits within the revered Archaean Mulgathing Complex of the Gawler Craton, a region known for world-class mineral deposits such as BHP’s Prominent Hill and the Challenger gold mine.
The deposit is just 50km from Marmota’s core gold projects at its Aurora tank and Campfire bore which are also, importantly, near major transport infrastructure, including the Adelaide-Darwin and Adelaide-Perth rail lines.
The strategic proximity of Campfire bore and Aurora tank, as well as the broader Gawler Craton project presents opportunistic synergies for Marmota in a growing titanium market and record gold price environment. Notably, all of its gold resources lie close to surface -within 100m - making them amenable to open-pit mining and low-cost processing similar to what it expects possible at Muckanippie.
Marmota’s prime focus continues to be trained on the quick development of a low-cost gold production hub at Aurora tank and potentially Campfire bore with the price of the yellow metal continuing to bump along above $4000 per ounce.
And as the metallurgical test results from its titanium discovery roll in, the market meerkats will also be keeping an eye on developments there with Marmota seeking to add a potential world-class, high grade and shallow titanium deposit to its continually growing shallow gold resources at the same project.
Is your ASX-listed company doing something interesting? Contact: office@bullsnbears.com.au