Kingfisher Mining Ltd (ASX:KFM) has returned high-grade rare earths from the discovery hole at the 100%-owned Mick Well Rare Earth Elements (REE) Project in the Gascoyne Mineral Field in Western Australia.
Analysis of the 1-metre samples from discovery hole MWRC004 has returned 4 metres at 1.84% total rare earth oxides (TREO), including 1-metre at 3.87% TREO within the previous broader interval of 12 metres at 1.12% TREO.
Strong Nd and Pr values
Also providing strong encouragement for the company are that these samples contained high values of neodymium (Nd) and praseodymium (Pr).
The results are:
- 4 metres at 1.84% TREO with 0.34% Nd and Pr from 41 metres, including 1-metre at 3.87% TREO with 0.70% Nd and Pr from 41 metres; and
- 1-metre at 2.39% TREO with 0.47% Nd and Pr from 49 metres.
High-grade light REEs
Kingfisher’s executive director and CEO James Farrell said: “The analysis of the 1-metre samples from the rare earth discovery drill hole at Mick Well has revealed high-grade light rare earth elements within the previously reported interval.
“The company has commenced mineralogy studies on the mineralisation which is now known to consist of the REE-bearing minerals allanite and monazite.
"Follow-up drilling has been scheduled to commence mid-April and will target the high-grade rare earth element mineralisation intersected in MWRC004 as well as a number of other high-priority targets in the immediate Mick Well Area.”
The drilling program at Mick Well was designed to test targets that were identified from a Versatile Time Domain Electromagnetic (VTEMTM Max) airborne survey.
Location of the Arthur River, Kingfisher and Mick Well projects in the Gascoyne Mineral Field showing the extents of the Durlacher Suite and Halfway Gneiss.
Mineralogy studies
Mineralogy and petrography studies by Richard England and Diamantina Laboratories on samples from the REE discovery at Mick Well are underway.
Initial results from sample MWRC0312 (MWRC004, 41 to 42 metres, 3.87% TREO) which is in fresh rock show the REE mineralisation occurs as allanite and monazite in rocks that dominantly consist of apatite, potassium feldspar, quartz and calcite.
Laboratory analysis for total rare earth content has been completed using Laser Ablation Inductively Coupled Plasma Mass Spectrometry and also by Inductively Coupled Plasma (ICP) Mass Spectrometry for all of the raw 1-metre drill samples that have been analysed.
The laser ablation method used a lithium nitrate flux to form a fused bead in a furnace and is considered to have completely liberate all rare earth elements.
The ICP method uses a four acid digest which may result in refractory minerals not being completely liberated.
High recovery potential
The results from both analytical methods are remarkably similar, highlighting that all rare earth-bearing minerals have been completely liberated by the acid digest.
The company considers this to be an encouraging result as it highlights the potential for high recoveries of the neodymium and praseodymium.
Data review
Kingfisher has completed reviews of past exploration work on its new application tenements.
During 1999 and 2000, Cameco Australia Pty Ltd explored an area that partially covers the western extents of the company’s current tenure for unconformity-related uranium mineralisation.
A diamond drill hole completed by Cameco intersected anomalous REEs, with 3.4 metres at 0.14% TREO from 2.6 metres downhole. The drill hole is about 25 kilometres west of Mick Well and is in Kingfisher’s target shear zone for REE mineralisation – a shear zone that extends for 54 kilometres in the company’s extensive exploration tenure.
The company considers the results to be extremely encouraging for the exploration potential of the entire 54-kilometre structural corridor.
Upcoming exploration
Kingfisher has planned extensive and targeted exploration programs for its Gascoyne projects for 2022.
The planned exploration is designed to be cost-effective and aims to develop and test drill targets from ground-based work including mapping, rock sampling and radiometrics.
It also plans to simultaneously develop a pipeline of exploration opportunities through integrating regional and airborne geophysical surveys with geological knowledge from the company’s breakthrough REE discovery at Mick Well.
Drill programs are planned for Mick Well, Kingfisher and Arthur River, with an initial follow-up program at Mick Well expected to begin in mid-April and a larger program planned for the September quarter.
The upcoming drill program will test five targets, including follow-up drilling at the MW2 and MW3 targets as well as another target that has a similar geophysical response as MW2, with a conductor identified from the VTEM MaxTM survey and a coincident magnetic low.
The Kingfisher and Mick Well projects are about 230 kilometres east of Carnarvon, in the Gascoyne region of Western Australia.
KFM holds exploration licences covering 969 square kilometres and has recently increased its interests in the Gascoyne Mineral Field by nearly 40% through the targeted pegging of additional tenure interpreted to be prospective for rare earth elements.