Miramar Resources Ltd (ASX:M2R) has begun the hunt for rare earth elements (REEs) on its Lang Well Project in Western Australia with an aircore drilling campaign targeting the area around a historical drill hole which encountered shallow REE mineralisation.
Limited drilling has been completed on Lang Well to date.
In 2009 auger drilling encountered several large anomalies that revealed gold and samarium (a type of REE) mineralisation, the only elements tested for at that time.
Subsequent drilling in 2010 revealed lanthanum and cerium mineralisation that returned grades up to 1,500 parts per million (ppm) total rare earth oxides (TREO) from 29-32 metres of depth.
No further follow-up work or REE analysis has been completed until Miramar’s new exploratory drilling campaign at the Toben Bore target.
Potential for shallow REE body
Miramar Resources executive chair Allan Kelly said the company was looking forward to drill testing the REE target for shallow mineralisation.
“Given the large areal extent of the auger REE anomalism, the strongly elevated lanthanum and cerium results, and the lack of any systematic REE analysis, there is potential for a significant amount of shallow REE mineralisation to be outlined at Lang Well,” he said.
Lang Well Project showing Geological Survey of Western Australia (GSWA) outcrop geology, auger anomalism and historical drilling