Australian heavy rare earths developer, Northern Minerals Limited (ASX: NTU) has announced further high grade rare earth oxide geochemical results from its Browns Range Project. The new samples highlight the prospectivity of the project and surrounding region. All of the samples have been collected from the Western Australian side of the border with much of the prospective area on the Northern Territory side yet to be assessed.
Highlights
- New rock chip samples return anomalous grades of up to 6.4% TREO from regional sampling;
- Sampling returned multiple samples grading >1% TREO;
- RC drilling planned targeting several prospect areas this quarter;
- Exploration program part of project enhancement plans to extend mine life from 11 years to >20 years.
Australian heavy rare earths developer, Northern Minerals Limited (ASX: NTU) (the Company) is pleased to announce further high grade rare earth oxide (REO) geochemical results from the Browns Range Project.
The new samples highlight the prospectivity of the project and surrounding region. All of the samples have been collected from the Western Australian side of the border with much of the prospective area on the Northern Territory side yet to be assessed. See Figure 1 for sample locations.
The samples are point samples and therefore have a high potential of bias and should not be considered as being representative of the overall mineralised structure or rock type. The samples were selected using a portable XRF (measuring yttrium).
The results are highly anomalous, given the average grade of the Browns Range deposits is 0.63% TREO. The high proportion of Heavy Rare Earths for most of the samples indicates that the dominant rare earth mineral is likely to be xenotime, the same as at Gambit West and Wolverine, the Company’s first two open pit mines. The highest-grade sample, BRRK401 (6.4% TREO) is from the Rockslider prospect which is yet to be drilled. Three of the samples are from a newly discovered prospect (Quicksilver) near the NT border. This latest discovery highlights the potential of the project area in the NT that is yet to be systematically assessed.