Kingfisher Mining Ltd (ASX:KFM) is drilling again at the 100%-owned MW2 prospect in the Gascoyne Mineral Field in WA, chasing more of the good results it recently recorded there.
The short program has been designed to follow-up high-grade rare earth elements (REE) intersected in drilling at MW2 that was completed in April and May of this year.
During that expedition, Kingfisher discovered REE mineralisation including 5 metres at 3.45% total rare earth oxides (TREO) with 0.65% Nd2O3 (neodymium oxide) and Pr6O11 (praseodymium oxide), including 3 metres at 5.21% TREO with 0.98% Nd2O3 and Pr6O11 from 102 metres.
The latest seven-hole, 750-metre reverse circulation (RC) drill campaign targets fresh monazite mineralisation intersected during recent drilling at the prospect.
Seven-day program
Reconnaissance drilling has also been planned at other locations in the Mick Well area.
The drill program is expected to take one week to complete with results expected to be announced in early September this year.
Kingfisher executive director and CEO James Farrell said: “The opportunity to complete a short seven-day drilling program came to us when our drilling contractor advised us of the availability of a rig among other work close to our Gascoyne projects.
“We leapt at the opportunity to follow-up the impressive drilling results that have already been returned from MW2 and drilling is now underway."
Valuable information ahead of larger program
“The recently discovered high-grade REE mineralisation that extends over a strike length of 800 metres and is located 500 metres north of MW2 could not be included in this program due to the narrow window of drill rig availability," Farrell said.
“We anticipate that this mineralisation will be included in our next drilling program. This drilling campaign will provide valuable information ahead of the larger program locked in for later in the year which will incorporate existing and new targets being defined by our ongoing regional exploration across the Chalba Shear.”
Carbonatites mean REE mineralisation
Kingfisher hopes to find REE mineralisation along a 54-kilometre corridor associated with the Chalba Shear Zone, a broad west-northwest trending crustal-scale structure that provides a conduit for the intrusion of carbonatites, as well as associated alteration and late-stage mineralised veins and carbonatite dykes.
Fenites – carbonatite-associated alteration – and potassium fenites, are well-developed in the Mick Well area and are an important host of the REE mineralisation.
What’s next?
Kingfisher plans to carry out extensive and targeted exploration programs for its Gascoyne projects during 2022.
The company says the programs will be cost-effective and aim to develop and test drill targets from ground-based mapping and rock sampling.
It will also develop a pipeline of exploration opportunities by integrating current and planned tenement-scale airborne geophysical surveys with geological knowledge from its breakthrough REE discovery at Mick Well.