Reach Resources has uncovered more thick rare earth hits at its 100 per cent-owned Wabli Creek project in Western Australia’s Gascoyne region, hitting an impressive 76m grading 1677 parts per million (ppm) total rare earth oxides.
Assays for the remaining 22 drill-holes from the recent 40-hole reverse-circulation program returned consistent zones of the valuable magnet rare earth oxides, returning up to 1809ppm with the potential for additional high-grade zones.
The company says the drilling returned significant intersections of rare earths assaying more than 1000 ppm total rare earth oxides (TREO) within most of the holes and up to 7193ppm, with mineralisation beginning from surface on multiple occasions.
Best results from the remaining assays consisted of 76m at 1677ppm TREO from 4m and included a 14m section going 2394ppm TREO and 19m running 379ppm of the lucrative magnet rare earths.
Further solid hits included 68m at 1032ppm TREO from 12m and 40m going 1534ppm TREO from 7m, which included 7m at 2850ppm TREO and 7m of magnet rare earth oxides at 689ppm.
Management says the thick mineralisation is hosted within an “alkaline granite (biotite granite) intrusion” with the drilling discovering significant weathering along shear zones, which ultimately produced the highest grades found at the site.
It noted the higher-grade rare earth oxides were accompanied by a depletion of the grades in the neighbouring granite and within nearby pegmatites.
The highly weathered zones are thought to have been influenced by hydrothermal fluids in the rare earth mineralisation and subject to a steep eastward dip.
The company believes the migration of hydrothermal fluids through the shear zones may have altered the granite-hosted rock in the highly weathered zones to a more clay-type material, with the potential for the entire alkaline granite intrusion to be mineralised.
It says this would create a significant target for the company to pursue and with the high-grade zones elevating the overall levels of rare earths, it could improve the economics of the project substantially.
Reach Resources CEO Jeremy Bower said: “The positive results from recent drilling efforts highlights the consistent REE mineralisation found in the alkaline granite. The presence of significantly high grades of MREO within weathered zones is particularly promising. The results are encouraging, as multiple drill holes have confirmed that the mineralisation begins at or near the surface, which is advantageous for future exploration and for mining, should a mine be developed in the future.”
Of particular importance is the significance of magnet rare earth oxides encountered at the site, with the higher-value neodymium, praseodymium, dysprosium and terbium being essential for manufacturing permanent magnets used in electric vehicles and wind turbines.
These elements represent the most valuable components of the TREO basket by quite a stretch.
Reach says the drill campaign was guided by a mix of previous rock chip and soil sampling programs, geological mapping and geophysical surveys.
The complete 40-hole program targeted the Pelops, Broteas and Amphion prospects, with the 22 remaining assays received comprising eight holes from Pelops, three holes from Amphion and 11 from Broteas.
Management says petrology confirms the prominent minerals at the site to be monazite and zircon and it plans to ascertain exactly what type of mineralised project it has on its hands, in terms of a hard-rock or clay type deposit.
It has forwarded five samples to the laboratory for comprehensive geochemical analysis.
The results from the analysis will also help determine the next phase of work programs at the site.
The all-important question is how significantly weathered is the majority of the rare earth material at Wabli Creek’s ground? The answer will play a critical role in the project’s future, due to the very different mining and processing requirements for either hard rock or granite-derived clay-style deposits.
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By Craig Nolan
