Rare earths result boosts hunt for White Cliff

White Cliff Minerals’ WA projects have thrown up rare earth rock chip results up to 924 parts per million TREO at Yinnetharra in the Gascoyne region of WA and soil sample anomalies indicate that additional unsampled outcrops are prospective for rare earths at Yinnetharra. Drilling of magnetic and other anomalies is also imminent at the company’s Hines Hill project in search of buried carbonatite hosted rare earths mineralisation some 200km east of Perth.

Up to 550 parts per million TREO were assayed from soil samples over the geophysical anomalies at Hines Hill.

At Yinnetharra White Cliff will soon commence a high resolution, 50m line spacing, magnetic and radiometric survey seeking evidence of primary rare earths targets. Lithium pegmatites are being targeted in the northern part of Yinnetharra as White Cliff seeks to repeat the success of explorers to the north of the company’s ground.

Yinnetharra is located 85km south of Hastings Rare Earths’ world-class Yangibana project which has JORC resources of 21Mt at 1.17 per cent TREO including 0.4 per cent combined Neodymium/Praseodymium oxides which are highly valued metals for the electric vehicle market. Primary mineralisation at Yangibana is in narrow discontinuous extensive outcropping ironstone dykes. These dykes host rare earths associated with monazite mineralisation. Hasting believes the project also has “the potential for as yet untested rare earths mineralisation associated with deeper carbonatite bodies.” The rare earths rich dykes are weakly radioactive and carbonatite would be expected to show as magnetic anomalies hence the combined magnetic and radiometric survey being undertaken at Yinnetharra by White Cliff Minerals.

White Cliff Technical Director Ed Mead said: “I look forward to getting back on the ground at Yinnetharra in the next few weeks and hope to further unlock the area as we narrow down the primary source of mineralisation.”

Mead pointed to a potentially strong rare earths/lithium news flow to come with drilling underway at North Kellerberrin, drilling about to commence at Hines Hill, a geophysical analysis of Lake Tay and a planned geochemical program at Diemals.

Rock chip TREO assays from Yinnetharra can be used to calibrate the radiometric data to further assist targeting according to White Cliff.

With an active exploration program and a strong focus on the hot commodities of rare earths and lithium, White Cliff will be one to watch as geophysical and geochemical survey work generates drilling targets which are now being hit with the drill bit at Hines Hill and North Kellerberrin.

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