Lotus Resources Ltd (ASX:LOT) has begun exploration activities, including reverse circulation (RC) drilling, at its Milenje Hills Rare Earth Prospect about 2 kilometres north of the Kayelekera open pit in Malawi.
Importantly, this exploration program follows the discovery of high-grade rare earth oxide (REO) material related to uranium mineralisation that grades up to 16% total REO and 3.4% critical REO at Milenje Hills earlier this year.
Besides RC drilling, the exploration program also includes additional geophysics, mapping and trenching.
Looking ahead, Lotus will determine the optimal path forward to crystalise the value of the rare earth opportunity at Kayelekera for shareholders.
“Extremely encouraging”
Lotus managing director Keith Bowes said: “Whilst the company remains firmly focused on the development and recommencement of production at the Kayelekera Uranium Mine, we believe the Milenje Hills prospect has the potential to add real value to the company for minimal expenditure.
“Clearly, the initial results encountered at Milenje Hills were extremely encouraging, given both the grade and assemblage of rare earth minerals.
“The current work program will provide us with an enhanced understanding of the overall potential of Milenje Hills, prior to determining the optimal path forward to realise value for shareholders.”
Milenje Hills
The prospect was first identified through ground surveys and mapping in 2014 while exploring for uranium mineralisation adjacent to the Kayelekera uranium resource.
Late in 2020, Lotus completed its initial work program at Milenje Hills to better define the nature and extent of the mineralisation which had not been fully outlined due to lack of surface exposure of the mineral-bearing rocks.
This initial work included trenching (17 total) and identified areas of interest to be the allanite bearing host rocks within two main lithology types; pegmatites and microgranites, seventy samples were collected, of which 22 were mineralised.
2021 work program
The current activities include:
- Extension of the geophysical dataset to include additional survey lines over the large anomaly identified in the initial work;
- Mapping in the broader area to define new mineralised zones; and
- Additional trenching with an excavator in new zones as well as deepening some of the previous trenches and extending others where good mineralisation was observed.