Lanthanein reports ‘outstanding’ Murraydium REE hits
Junior explorer Lanthanein Resources (ASX:LNR) has reported a fresh batch of ‘outstanding’ results from roadside drilling at its Murraydium Rare Earth Element (REE) Project in South Australia.
Through the drilling work, Lanthanein targeted ionic clay-hosted rare earths within the Loxton Parilla Sands unit in the area. According to the company, this region is home to the ‘extensive’ mineralised system that hosts Australian Rare Earths’ (ASX:AR3) Koppamurra resource of 101 million tonnes @ 818 parts per million (ppm) total rare earth oxides (TREO).
Lanthanein, which has a $12.33 million market capitalisation, drilled 215 aircore holes for 3,709m at the project, with 40 holes returning more than 500ppm TREO and 5 holes returning more than 1000ppm TREO.
The top results include hole SBT199 with 2m @ 1,560ppm TREO, including 1m @ 2,420ppm TREO, from 19m. This hole had combined 23% neodymium/praseodymium (Nd/Pr) and 1.8% dysprosium (Dy). Other results include hole SBT190 with 2m @ 808ppm TREO, including 1m @ 1,264ppm TREO, from 14m, with combined 21% Ny/Pr and 2.5% Dy.
Lanthanein Technical Director Brian Thomas says the company is ‘very excited’ to release these ‘long-awaited’ assays from the roadside drilling program.
“These results are the absolute confirmation of the exciting exploration opportunity in a region that is highly prospective for ionic clay hosted rare earth deposits, as evidenced by work done in the region by AR3, who have outlined an extensive mineralised system at Koppamurra where shallow near-surface exploration has delineated significant JORC Resources of REEs.“
“These results are the absolute confirmation of the exciting exploration opportunity in a region that is highly prospective for ionic clay hosted rare earth deposits“
Lanthanein says the shallow nature of the rare earths, which lie between the surface and 29m deep, will help with ‘rapid’ exploration drilling to explore for a mineral resource in the area.
The Murraydium REE Project is part of exploration licence EL6717, which covers 872km-square in the southeastern region of South Australia. On top of the Koppamurra project, the region is also home to Resource Base’s (ASX:RBX) Mitre Hill deposit, for which the company recently reported a mineral resource estimate of 21 million tonnes @ 767ppm TREO.
Alongside Murraydium, Lanthanein also owns the Gascoyne Project, also prospective for rare earths, the Mt Clere REE and Lithium Project, and the Koolya Kaolin Project, which all lie in Western Australia.
Lanthanein Resources had roughly $2.9 million in cash and cash equivalents at hand as of 30 June, according to its latest quarterly report.
Write to Joshua Smith at Mining.com.au
Images: Lanthanein Resources