Miramar Resources Ltd (ASX:M2R) has started a detailed UAV magnetic survey over the 100%-owned Lang Well Project in WA’s Murchison district.
Here, the explorer is on the hunt for gold and/or rare earth element (REE) mineralisation and it plans to sample the project’s outcropping pegmatites and complete aircore drilling down the line.
Reviewing historical information led Miramar to at least 50 pegmatites of interest on the property, including a northern swarm that spans at least 7 kilometres of strike.
Limited historical exploration
Miramar executive chair Allan Kelly said the magnetic survey would assist in planning the first aircore drilling program testing both the auger gold anomalism and REE potential.
“Lang Well covers a very large area with widespread surficial material covering prospective geology and structures,” he explained.
“Based on the limited historic exploration results, the southeastern part of the project is prospective for gold mineralisation, and also has significant potential for REE mineralisation as indicated by the very limited historic drilling which intersected strongly anomalous REEs.
“Given the widespread occurrence of pegmatites in the outcropping areas of the project, we think there is potential for a significant number of additional pegmatite occurrences, potentially prospective for lithium or REEs, elsewhere within the project, either outcropping or beneath shallow cover.”
Putting the pieces together
To date, not one of Lang Well’s pegmatites has been assayed for lithium and rare earth elements.
Although historical auger drilling in 2009 identified several large gold anomalies in the project’s southeast, these samples were also never assayed for lithium or REEs.
A single line of aircore drilling in 2010 intersected highly anomalous REEs including 4 metres at 1,500 parts per million total rare earth oxides, with holes 50 metres away on either side also returning anomalous REE results.
No exploration was undertaken at Lang Well between 2010 and Miramar securing the ground in 2019, after which time the company conducted limited reconnaissance soil sampling over several of the historic auger anomalies.
Two of Miramar’s soil sample lines returned coincident and anomalous lanthanum and cerium results in an area with no previous drilling.
The very limited historic drilling, combined with the extensive auger gold anomalism in the covered southeastern area, led Miramar to kick off the magnetic survey over this part of the project.
Next steps
Looking ahead, Miramar plans to undertake systematic rock chip sampling of the northern pegmatites, including analysis for Lithium and REEs.
It will finalise the plans for the first reconnaissance aircore drilling program once the new magnetic data is received and processed.