Lindian Resources’ Kangankunde project in Malawi continues to produce incredible assay results from its maiden drill campaign including a 1m hit at an outstanding 9.49 per cent total rare earth oxides, or “TREO” from 19m.
The explorer says the latest results include the highest grading hole to date at the operation with a mammoth 186m intercept going 2.97 per cent TREO from surface. The wide section includes 24m going 3 per cent TREO from surface, 65m grading 3.64 per cent TREO from 58m, 29m at an impressive 3.71 per cent TREO from 136m and a 16m hit reading 3.24 per cent TREO from 170m to the end of the hole.
Additional assay highlights show a 117m intercept at 2.76 per cent TREO from surface. The 117m hit was comprised of an 82m section going 3.12 per cent TREO from surface including 4m at a whopping 6.31 per cent TREO from 16m.
A third assay recorded a 131m hit averaging 2.14 per cent TREO from surface including 50m at 2.75 per cent TREO from 81m to the end of the hole.
Lindian is currently undertaking phase 1 of its 12,500m resource definition drilling program including 10,000m of RC drilling and a further 2500m of diamond drilling to test mineralisation to a depth of 300m. The 44-hole campaign includes two RC rigs and one diamond drill rig.
The company has now completed 32 RC holes for 5551m and four core holes for a total of 834m with assays from the first 11 holes released.
One of the holes was drilled to test the mixed breccia zone that is comprised of carbonite and altered wall rock with a 13m hit going 1.47 per cent TREO from surface. Lindian says it expected the zone to be a much lower grade than the results show and indicates significant additional rare earths mineralisation could be hosted within the breccia.
Lindian Resources Chief Executive Officer, Alistair Stephens said: “These assays are without doubt extremely encouraging from the perspective of the size of the mineralised body as we have continued to intersect very broad, high-grade intercepts of non-radioactive mineralisation from surface with all holes terminating in mineralisation.”
Last week the company unveiled a massive 300m hit at 2.31 per cent TREO from surface including 66m at 2.37 per cent TREO from surface, 50m going 2.3 per cent TREO from 77m, 32m grading 2.18 per cent TREO from 137m and a whopping 124m recording 2.53 per cent TREO from 176m to the end of the hole.
Lindian says all holes drilled to date have started and terminated in mineralisation with plans in place to extend a number of holes with core drilling.
Kangankunde is considered one of the world’s largest rare earth operations outside China and hosts an outdated resource of 2.53 million tonnes grading 4.24 per cent rare earths oxide and containing 107,000 tonnes of rare earths oxide when using a cut-off grade of 3.5 per cent. It is a carbonatite-hosted system with mineralisation exposed at the surface and open at depth.
Earlier this month the company recorded an initial set of outstanding results from the first two holes drilled at the site that included a 1m section recording 11.8 per cent TREO from 13m with a second 1m section going 11.1 per cent TREO from 12m.
The ratio of neodymium and praseodymium, or “NdPr” in the total concentrate at the project is about 19 per cent and a mining licence has already been secured for the site.
With the company returning better than expected results from the breccia zone in addition to superb assays from its maiden drill campaign, Lindian could be looking at a significant resource upgrade on its horizon.
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By Matt Birney
