source:Proactive
Northern Minerals Ltd (ASX:NTU) has completed exploration drilling at the Browns Range Cyclops, Rockslider and Banshee prospects, receiving highly anomalous portable x-ray fluorescence (pXRF) measurements of yttrium over wide zones.
The heavy rare earth materials producer has just wrapped up an 8,700-metre exploration drilling program at its flagship Browns Range Project in northern Western Australia, with total rare earth oxide (TREO) assay results imminent.
Cyclops, Rockslider and Banshee prospects will receive follow-up reverse circulation (RC) drilling later this month.
X-ray payday
Northern Minerals CEO Mark Troy said the preliminary pXRF results boosted the company’s confidence in the rare earth potential of the project even further.
“The field pXRF results are highly encouraging and we eagerly await confirmatory TREO assay results,” he said.
“The Browns Range Dome is an amazingly rich, resource filled area that holds the key to our current and future growth.
“Our overall strategy remains to increase the mineral resource and life-of-mine potential at
Browns Range to more than 10 years, which will feed into our feasibility study for a potential commercial-scale heavy rare earth operation at Browns Range.”
Preliminary field pXRF data indicates that the Banshee prospect is in fact more extensive than originally thought, while three of the four holes intersected at Rockslider indicated elevated pXRF Yttrium anomalism over extensive down hole intervals.
NTU strategy explained
Northern Minerals Ltd is positioned to become one of the few producers of the heavy rare earth element dysprosium via production from Browns Range.
Through the development of the flagship project, Northern Minerals aims to become a significant world producer of dysprosium outside of China - it is estimated that about 99% of the world’s dysprosium comes from China.
Dysprosium, like many rare earths, is used in the production of metal alloys, glassmaking, ceramics, magnets, electronics, batteries and catalysts.
The project is 100%-owned by Northern Minerals and has several deposits and prospects containing high-value dysprosium and other heavy rare earths, hosted in xenotime mineralisation.
But it’s not just dysprosium that sits beneath Northern Minerals’ feet; the total rare earth oxide (TREO) assay results it is expecting very soon could include oxides of all of the rare earth elements: scandium, yttrium, lanthanum, cerium, praseodymium, neodymium, promethium, samarium, europium, gadolinium, terbium, dysprosium, holmium, erbium, thulium, ytterbium and lutetium.
Next steps
RC drilling is expected to begin in mid-September at Browns Range targeting a second phase of drilling to follow up on drilling completed in late 2020.
The main target areas are within the Banshee prospect and along the SE unconformity corridor from Dazzler to Quicksilver.