Aldoro Resources Ltd (ASX:ARN) says assays from the Wyemandoo Pegmatite Project reveal high-grade rubidium, with individual samples containing up to 1.24% of the rare element with lithium and tantalum also in the mix.
The results come from three core pegmatite tenements recently sampled at the rare element pegmatite project, part of the Windimurra igneous complex (WIC), a sheared, layered ultra-mafic/mafic intrusion that has been cross-cut by an extensive swarm of pegmatite dykes.
Strategic rare earth elements
The pegmatites are classified as L-C-T (lithium-caesium-tantalum) pegmatites, a sub-set of granitic pegmatites associated with the Bald Rock Supersuite. A range of strategic rare elements occur in these pegmatites, such as niobium, tantalum and caesium.
The 188 rock chip assay results show a range of rubidium values, averaging 1,662.7 parts per million (ppm) or 0.166% rubidium. This average grade was bolstered by four individual assays of more than 10,000 ppm rubidium (1%) and 45 samples in the range 2,000 to 9,000 ppm.
Other rare elements reported included tantalum (at an average grade of 113 ppm) and caesium (at an average grade of 37 ppm). One sample returned a grade of 1.05% lithium.
An extensive corridor
Back in September the company found high-grade rubidium and lithium in rock chip samples taken from the Central Pegmatite at tenement E59/2431, which is also one of the core tenements for the company’s nickel projects.
Tenements E57/1017 and E58/571 were acquired from Meridian 120 Mining Pty Ltd in the middle of last year.
The company subsequently found, through extensive mapping and sampling, that the pegmatite swarm extended to the northeast as an extensive corridor, projecting into the recently acquired Wyemandoo E57/1017 and E58/571 tenements.
From Niobe to Wyemandoo
The company is currently working on its Niobe Pegmatite Project drilling program, which is nearing completion, with six RC holes remaining.
Aldoro expects that drilling at Niobe will wrap up by early March and the drill rig will then be freed up to arrive at Wyemandoo ready for drilling to start in mid-March, when an extensive greenfield drilling program is planned.
Of "global significance"
The company views its pegmatite assets as an "exciting additional focus".
Wyemandoo covers a substantial holding, extending over three tenements and containing a roughly defined pegmatite corridor of around 6,600 hectares, while Niobe, by comparison, represents an extent of 195.84 hectares.
The Wyemandoo average rare element grades, particularly rubidium, are demonstrably higher than those recovered at Niobe, with more than 1,000 pegmatites identified by satellite and drone imagery to date, and the company believes that Wyemandoo is shaping up to be a resource of “global significance”.