Marmota (ASX: MEU) says it has made a new, close-to-surface rare earths discovery at its “Manna from Heaven” target on the north-east margin of its vast block of exploration licences centred just 50km east of Lake Anthony in South Australia.
The top five clay-hosted total rare earth oxides results (TREO) released by the company today include 2104 parts per million, 1761ppm, 1508ppm, 1219ppm and 1029ppm TREO – all of them containing a high proportion of valuable magnet rare earths oxides MREO). Management says they represent its highest TREO grades to date.
Marmota’s “Project X” drilling campaign comprised 155 reconnaissance holes on a square grid ranging from about 400m to 600m spacing, mostly across its 100 per cent-owned Commonwealth Hill exploration licence that has an area of about 17 square kilometres.
Part of the program also included two north-south lines of close-spaced drilling along the southern part of the eastern boundary of the licence – known as “Target 21” or Manna From Heaven – in a bid to scout out responses that could reflect continuity from a hit reported by Petratherm of 3m at 2701ppm TREO right on the company’s boundary.
Target 21 has yielded Marmota’s highest rare earth TREOs, remarkably close to surface.
Marmota chairman Colin Rose
And management says that objective was borne out by the fact that all of its best grades were identified in the south-eastern corner of the licence and within 400m of its eastern boundary. Other elevated responses in the 500ppm to 1000ppm TREO range also extend westwards from the south-eastern corner of the licence.
Target 21 has yielded Marmota’s highest rare earth TREOs, remarkably close to surface, and among the highest industry ratios of high-value magnetic rare earths to total TREOs. It is a model that suits us perfectly, close to surface with low cost exploration, and low cost potential mining. Marmota chairman Dr Colin Rose
Rose said Marmota shareholders had an “embarrassment of riches” as the company also had advanced gold projects with bonanza grades close to surface, with metallurgical optimisation underway and global prices for the precious yellow metal flying high to new record levels. It had also unveiled an “attractive” Junction Dam uranium resource in SA next door to where Boss Energy was rebooting production.
Overall, the anomalous zone at Manna From Heaven extends about 2.8km from north to south and about the same distance east-west. Other responses in the 100ppm to 500ppm TREO range were picked up in most of the holes, right across the licence and into the adjacent Comet East ground.
Marmota’s latest headline drill intercepts from 4m composites were 2104ppm TREO from 8m with 37 per cent MREO, 1761ppm TREO from 20m downhole with 36 per cent MREO, 1508ppm TREO from 20m with 33 per cent MREO, 1219ppm TREO from 16m with 27 per cent MREO and 1029ppm TREO from 12m with 28 per cent MREO.
Notably, the average depth of drilling was only about 27m and the company reported significant intercepts from as shallow as 8m.
Many companies with new projects seem to be finding that sizing beneficiation and non-aggressive hydrochloric acid leaches seem to be working well. And on top of all that, as with every project, grade is king.
Marmota’s tenure includes large areas of prospective Archaean basement geology overlain with weathering clays that could host rare earths accumulation and it could well find itself sitting on a new province.
While its latest results are from reconnaissance level drilling on an open-grid pattern, it has been remarkably successful in its first pass and has highlighted an extensive area that can be transitioned to immediate infill drilling programs, with a reasonable expectation for an early preliminary resource estimate.
So, it appears the company could soon be adding rare earths to its quiver of gold and uranium arrows if it can make its Manna From Heaven target live up to its name.
Is your ASX-listed company doing something interesting? Contact: office@bullsnbears.com.au