Appia Rare Earths & Uranium Corp. (CSE:API, OTCQB:APAAF) announced a partial set of results from its 15-hole due diligence drilling program completed in April.
The results confirm the continuity of grade between this representative sample and a vendor's assay results on the company’s Cachoeirinha project (PCH project) in Brazil.
"As previously announced, we drilled 15 auger holes twinning a representative mix of trenches, drill and auger holes across the western portion of the property and the partial assay results received from the SGS Geosol labs in Brazil have now confirmed that the data presented by the vendor is accurate and acceptable to Appia's management and the board," Appia president Stephen Burega said in a statement.
Moving forward, Appia said it intends to acquire a major interest in the project.
"I am extremely pleased to announce that the company intends to finalize the previously announced letter agreement to acquire up to a 70% ownership interest in the PCH project and move to signing a binding shareholder's agreement,” Burega said.
Appia and the vendor are working with SGS Canada to undertake initial mineralogy testing on samples from the PCH property, the company said. The plan is to submit additional samples over the next quarter.
"Based on my review of the work completed to date by Appia and the vendor, the PCH project is an ionic absorption clay structure covering a large project area with significant potential," said Don Hains, industrial mineral expert and consulting geologist to Appia.
Once a shareholder agreement is executed, Appia said it plans to launch an initial work program in July, including a detailed Lidar survey across the entire PCH property, an auger drill program of the primary target area on the western segment of the PCH property at 100-meter line spacing, assay sampling at half-meter intervals, an initial stream sediment and soil geochemical sampling program on the highly prospective eastern segment of the PCH property, an environmental baseline study and more.
Early indications are that the mineralogy is primarily bastnaesite and monazite with clays that are preferentially enriched in the valuable magnetic rare earth elements, the company said. Historic work by the vendors indicates that the magnetic REEs represent roughly 25% of the total REEs found within the project area.
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