Gold Mountain (ASX: GMN) is continuing to blaze through a stream sediment sampling campaign in north-eastern Brazil, unearthing more highly anomalous rare earths from the Jiquiriçá and Itagi tenements at its Down Under project.
The company has revealed a new batch of 55 new stream sediment samples from its Jiquiriçá ground, bringing the total to date to 109, this time returning a peak value of 1096 parts per million total rare earth oxides (TREO) combined with anomalous levels of niobium, uranium and scandium. Management believes it indicates the potential for high-grade hard rock monazite-hosted rare earths.
The promising results from Jiquiriçá were today revealed alongside a further 52 initial samples from Gold Mountain’s Itagi tenements to the south. Widespread rare earths results were received, peaking at values of 305ppm TREO and also indicating the potential for a similar mineralisation type in the south as well as ionic-adsorption clay (IAC) rare earths deposits.
Boosted by the continued positive results, the company is now planning to expand its proposed auger drilling campaign to cover additional drill sites at Down Under in work that will include following up today’s newly-announced anomalous Itagi rare earths finds.
The extensive auger drilling campaign – already at 674 proposed holes and counting – is designed to test the most anomalous stream sample results across several areas for hard rock monazite-hosted mineralisation and in areas with known, well-preserved lateritic weathering profile typical of IAC-type rare earths.
Gold Mountain has outlined a series of campaigns to fully test its massive ground-holding. Drilling approvals processes are underway as is radiometric traversing within the most anomalous catchment areas and along drill lines to search for high-grade deposit indicators.
Radiometrics is a geophysical method used to estimate the radioelement concentrations, including potassium, uranium and thorium, at surface. It measures gamma rays above the surface that radioactive isotopes emit during radioactive decay.
Additionally, plans to conduct further stream sediment pan concentrate sampling to test two prominent clusters of results at Itagi and three catchment areas at Jiquiriçá, as defined by the strong geochemical anomalies, are due in the near term.
Management believes many of the higher-value TREO anomalies are coincident with both niobium and uranium anomalism, two high-flying commodities that have been benefiting from near all-time high prices throughout the start of this year.
The exceptional exploration success on our stream sediments results, in our Down Under Project, has exceeded our expectations. We are now confident that our Auger drilling program together with our Radiometric surveys will unlock the value that we always believed was present when we decided to work in this highly-prospective REE province. Gold Mountain managing director and CEO David Evans
The company has lodged applications for further tenements to extend the Poções anomalous catchment areas and they have been accepted by the National Mining Agency (ANM) – the authority responsible for governing Brazil’s mining industry.
Gold Mountain has an extensive landholding at the Down Under rare earths project, with some 2000 square kilometres of ground across more than 150km of prospective strike. The rare earths ground is in addition to multiple copper and lithium-prospective projects throughout the emerging Brazilian lithium belt.
Just last week, major hard rock lithium producer, Pilbara Minerals, made an enticing $560 million all-scrip bid for Gold Mountain’s neighbour, Latin Resources, in the lithium belt State of Minas Gerais. The bid shows a clear expression of interest in the emerging lithium valley and Latin’s highly-regarded 78 million-tonne at 1.24 per cent lithium oxide Salinas project.
With a multi-commodity suite of projects across the emerging and untested Brazilian rare earths and lithium regions, it appears Gold Mountain has its hands filled with potential major-scale projects … and plenty of boots-on-ground work ahead to try and unlock them.
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