Results are in for a first-pass aircore drilling program at the Peak Charles Project in WA and 100% owner Moho Resources Ltd (ASX:MOH) has confirmed the presence of clay-hosted rare earth element (REE) mineralisation with high-grade magnet rare earth oxides (REO) encountered.
The results have seen MOH shares soar as much as 139% to $0.043 intraday on strong volume of more than 133 million just before the market closed.
Newly uncovered REE potential
The Peak Charles Project was acquired through a deal with Whistlepipe Exploration Pty Ltd. Although the original target commodities for the project were nickel-copper sulphides and gold, the project has now shown potential for large-scale, clay-hosted REE mineralisation.
The project is an 874-square-kilometre contiguous tenement package some 88 kilometres northwest of Esperance in WA, consisting of three granted exploration licences and two pending exploration licence applications.
Significant clay-hosted rare earth elements have been intersected in maiden reconnaissance aircore drilling, with grades of up to 1,890 parts per million (ppm) total rare earth oxides (TREO).
The company says the REE-mineralised clays are up to 20 metres thick.
Strong critical and magnet rare earths
Promisingly, the drill has also encountered high-grade magnet rare earth oxides comprising up to 35.3% of the TREO grade and critical rare earth oxides have been observed in up to 41% of the TREO grade.
The company thinks the TREO target area extends over a footprint of roughly 15 kilometres by 12 kilometres, based on drilling data.
All holes at Pyramid Road and the northern end of Ned’s Corner Road that successfully drilled past the calcrete and hard clay top into the clay zone below have mineralisation greater than 300 ppm TREO.
The first pass reconnaissance drill program highlights the “strong potential upside” for further targeted TREO drilling at the Pyramid – Ned‘s Corner Road Prospect.
Next steps
Moho is now planning a follow-up drilling program to establish the continuity of the clay zones at Pyramid Road, Ned’s Corner Road and possibly the Northern Track prospects.
It’s also assessing and modelling drilling data and assay results as well as the recently acquired airborne geophysical data. It will also interpret newly acquired datasets to identify exploration targets on the entire Peak Charles Project tenement package for additional reconnaissance drilling.
Land access will need to be negotiated with private landholders and occupiers on the mining licences.
“Moho is excited by this first pass untargeted exploration program, which has shown consistent high-grade clay hosted REE results,” managing director Ralph Winter said.
“Moho believes the identified target zone of 15 x 12 kilometres thus far, with further room for growth across the tenement package, puts the company in a positive position in the REE market in Australia.”